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HARVARD  TRANSLATIONS 


/ 


THE  LIFE  OF  SAINT  SEVERINUS 


BY 

EUGIPPIUS 


TRANSLATED  INTO  ENGLISH  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME 
WITH  NOTES 


BY 

GEORGE  W.  ROBINSON 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  HARVARD  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF 
ARTS  AND  SCIENCES 


"Severin:  eine  Personlichkeit,  zu  der  es  keine  Parallele  giebt." 
Hauck,  Kirchengesckichte  DeutscMands,  vol.  i,  p.  33°- 


CAMBRIDGE 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON :   HUMPHREY  MILFORD 
OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1914 


^-•vC-- 


COPYRIGHT,   I9I4 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


MANIBUS 

GUILIELMI  WATSON  GOODWIN 

ADAMS  SHERMAN  HILL 

JACOBI  BRADSTREET  GREENOUGH 

CLEMENTIS  LAURENTII  SMITH 

TftN  MAKAPITflN 
SACRUM 


PREFACE 

It  has  been  said  of  the  French,  and  might  with  equal 
truth  be  said  of  the  Germans,  that  they  make  all  excel- 
lent pieces  of  antiquity  their  own.  That  we  are  yet 
far  from  being  in  a  position  to  make  the  same  boast 
in  behalf  of  our  noble  English  tongue;  that  our  defi- 
ciency is  particularly  great  as  respects  the  last  cen- 
turies of  ancient  civilization,  which  have  so  immediate 
a  relation  to  the  mediaeval  and  modern  worlds;  and 
that  in  those  centuries  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
writing  more  worthy  of  introduction  to  English  read- 
ers than  the  work  which  Teuffel  terms  "  the  incom- 
parable biography  of  Saint  Severinus":  these  facts, 
I  trust,  may  be  considered  in  some  measure  to  justify 
the  present  publication. 

This  translation  of  the  Life  of  Severinus,  the  first, 
so  far  as  appears,  in  our  language,^  is  from  the  recen- 
sion of  the  text  by  Theodor  Mommsen,  published  at 
Berlin,  in  1898,  in  the  series  of  Scriptores  Rerum  Ger- 

^  Professor  Carlton  H.  Hayes  translates  Chapters  I,  II,  VII,  XX, 
and  XL,  and  parts  of  V,  VIII,  and  XI,  in  An  Inlroduclion  to  the  Sources 
relating  to  the  Germanic  Invasions  (New  York,  1909),  pp.  128-133.  His 
translation  seems  to  be  made,  not  from  the  Latin  text,  but  from  the 
German  version  of  Rodenberg. 

7 


8  PREFACE 

manicarum.  In  an  Appendix,  pp.  117-121  below,  I 
have  given  a  list  of  editions  and  translations.  Momm- 
sen's  preface  contains  an  account  of  the  manuscripts 
of  the  Life,  of  the  chronology  of  the  time,  so  far  as  it 
casts  direct  Ught  upon  the  careers  of  Severinus  and 
Eugippius,  and  of  the  references  to  Eugippius  and 
Severinus  in  later  ecclesiastical  writers.^  One  who 
desires  a  more  general  view  of  the  period  may  obtain 
it  by  reading  the  pertinent  chapters  of  Hodgkin,  Dahn, 
or  Gibbon,  or  Julius  von  Pflugk-Harttung's  The  Great 
Migrations,  which,  translated  from  the  Allgemeine 
Weltgeschichte,  forms  the  sixth  volume  in  Wright's 
History  of  All  Nations.  Passages  referring  specifically 
to  Severinus  may  be  found  in  Pflugk-Harttung's  vol- 
ume, in  the  English  translation,  on  pages  250  f.,  269, 
and  296.  Julius  Jung,  in  his  Romer  und  Romanen  in 
den  Donaulandern  (Innsbruck,  1877),^  pages  133-141, 
15&-156,  etc.,  discusses  the  Life  with  particular 
reference  to  the  light  which  it  sheds  upon  the  ethnog- 
raphy and  local  history  of  Noricum  and  the  adjacent 
provinces.      I  will  also  mention  the  paragraphs  on 

1  Mommsen  does  not  mention  the  passage  in  the  biography  of  Wil- 
libald,  the  Saxon  pilgrim,  who  visited  Naples  in  729.  "  Et  ibi  est 
prope  castella  [sic]  ubi  requiescit  sanctus  Severinus."  Vita  WilUhaldi, 
4,  in  Monumenta  Germaniae  Hislorica,  Scriptores,  xv,  i  (1887). 

2  In  the  second  edition  (Innsbruck,  1887)  much  of  the  material 
relative  to  the  Life  is  omitted. 


PREFACE  9 

Eugippius  in  Teuffel  and  Schwabe's  History  of  Roman 
Literature  (Warr's  translation,  London,  1900),  section 
494,  and  in  Adolf  Ebert's  Geschichte  der  Christlich- 
lateinischen  Literatur  bis  zum  Zeitalter  Karls  des 
Grossen  (Leipsic,  1874),  pp.  431  ff.,  and  the  some- 
what longer  passage  in  Albert  Hauck's  Kirchen- 
geschichte    Deutschlands ,  vol.   i    (Leipsic,    1887),  pp. 

328-331- 

Andre  Baudrillart's  Saint  Severin   (1908),   in   the 

series  Les  Saints,  and  Die  Lebensbeschreibung  Severins 

als  kulturgeschichtliche  Quelle  (1903),  by  Theo  Sommer- 

lad,  require  no  more  than  passing  notice. 

Matthaeus  Rader's  Bavaria  Sancta  contains  spirited 
engravings  by  Raphael  Sadeler,  one  of  which  repre- 
sents the  night  scene  where  Severinus  recalls  the  priest 
Silvinus  from  the  dead. 

Mention  may  be  made  of  two  popular  accounts  of 
Severinus  for  English  readers:  Alban  Butler's  in  The 
Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs,  and  other  Principal 
Saints  (London,  1812-13),  vol.  i,  pp.  113  ff;  and 
Charles  Kingsley's  in  The  Hermits  (London,  1869), 
pp.  224-239,  with  a  translation  of  Chapter  VIII. 
Sabine  Baring-Gould,  after  excising  all  passages  of 
Kingsley's  essay  that  could  offend  the  most  credulous, 
reprints  the  remainder  in  The  Lives  of  the  Saints  (Lon- 
don, 1872-77),  vol.  i,  pp.  101-112. 


lo  PREFACE 

The  most  recent  German  translations  of  the  Life 
are  by  Karl  Rodenberg  (Leipsic,  1878,  second  edition, 
1884),  in  Geschichtschreiher  der  deutschen  Vorzeit,  and 
by  Sebastian  Brunner  (Vienna,  1879). 

I  thank  heartily  for  courteous  assistance  Dr. 
Gennaro  Aspreno  Galante  of  Naples,  who  has  given 
me  invaluable  help,  particularly  as  respects  the  recent 
history  of  the  remains  of  Severinus;  Professor  James 
Hardy  Ropes  of  Harvard  University;  Professor  Cesare 
Barone,  First  Archivist  of  the  Royal  Neapolitan  State 
Archives;  and  Librarian  Professor  Ferdinand  Ludwig 
Schmidt,  Dr.  Edward  D.  Snyder,  and  Mr.  Julius 
Klein,  who  have  kindly  examined  for  me  in  the 
Royal  Public  Library  at  Dresden,  the  British  Museum, 
and  the  BibUotheque  Nationale  at  Paris  several  edi- 
tions and  translations  not  accessible  in  Cambridge. 


George  W.  Robinson. 


Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
July,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

LETTER  OF  EUGIPPIUS  TO  PASCHASIUS    ...  15 

TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS 21 

THE  LIFE  OF  SAINT  SEVERINUS 29 

LETTER  OF  PASCHASIUS  TO  EUGIPPIUS    .    .    .  iii 

APPENDIX: 

I.  A  List  of  Editions  and  Translations  of  the 
Life 117 

n.  A  Latin  Hymn  in  Praise  of  Saint  Severinus  121 

in.  Chronological  Table 125 

INDEX  OF  AUTHORS  CITED  IN  THE  NOTES  .   129 

GENERAL  INDEX 133 


THE  LIFE  OF  SAINT  SEVERINUS 


LETTER  OF  EUGIPPIUS  TO 
PASCHASIUS 

To  the  holy  and  venerable  Deacon  Paschasius,  Eugip- 
pius  sends  his  salutation  in  Christ. 

About  two  years  ago,  in  the  consulship  of  Impor- 
tunus/  a  letter  of  a  noble  layman,  directed  to  a  priest, 
was  offered  me  to  read.     It  contained  the  life  of  Bassus    , 
a  monk,  who  formerly  dwelt  in  the  monastery  of  the    \ 


mountain  called  Titas,  above  Ariminum,  and  later  \ 
died  in  the  district  of  Lucania:  a  man  very  well  | 
known  to  me  and  to  many  others.  When  I  learned 
that  some  were  making  copies  of  this  letter,  I  began  to 
reflect,  and  also  to  declare  to  the  clergy,  that  the  great 
miracles  which  the  divine  power  had  wrought  through 
Saint  Severinus  ought  not  to  be  hidden. 

When  the  author  of  the  letter  knew  of  this,  he 
eagerly  requested  me  to  send  him  some  memoranda 
in  regard  to  Saint  Severinus,  that  he  might  write  a 
short  account  of  the  saint's  hfe  for  the  benefit  of  later 
generations.  In  response  to  this  offer,  I  prepared  a 
memoir,  filled  full  with  testimonies  from  the  daily 
narrations  of  the  elder  brethren,  with  which  I  was  per- 
fectly familiar.  Yet  I  did  this  with  great  regret;  for 
I  deemed  it  unreasonable,  that,  while  thou  wert  alive, 
I  should  ask  a  layman  to  write  a  life  of  Severinus.     It 

1  A.D.  509. 
'S 


I 


1 6  EUGIPPIUS  ) 

seemed  rash  to  impose  upon  a  lay  writer  the  arrange- 
ment and  composition  of  the  work.  Cultivated  in 
profane  Hterature  alone,  he  would  be  likely  to  compose 
the  biography  in  a  style  difficult  for  many  to  under- 
stand; so  that  the  remarkable  events,  which  had  too 
long  remained  hidden  in  silence  and  night,  might  fail 
through  the  obscurity  of  his  eloquence  to  shine 
brightly  forth  for  us,  untrained  as  we  are  in  polite 
letters. 

But  I  shall  search  no  more  for  the  feeble  light  of 
that  lamp  now  that  thy  sun-like  radiance  is  here. 
Only  veil  not  the  rays  of  thy  knowledge  by  a  cloud  of 
excuse,  accusing  thine  own  ignorance.  Lash  me  not, 
I  beseech  thee,  with  harsh  terms;  say  not,  Why  expect 
water  from  the  flint  ?  Indeed  I  do  not  expect  water 
from  the  flint  of  this  world's  highway,  but  from  thee, 
who,  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual,^  shalt 
refresh  us  from  the  Hving  rock  by  that  honey  of  speech 
with  which  thou  overflowest;  and  already  from  that 
honey  thou  sendest  a  nectar-taste  of  sweetest  promise, 
whfle  thou  biddest  me  transmit  a  memoir  or  notes 
upon  the  life  of  Saint  Severinus. 

Until  these  memoranda  win  admission  to  a  book  of 
thy  construction,  let  them  not  offend  the  mind  of  the 
critic.  For  he  who  seeks  an  architect  to  build  a 
house,  carefully  prepares  the  necessary  materials;  but 
if  the  architect  delays,  and  he  puts  together  in  the 
likeness  of  walls  unfashioned  heaps  from  the  rough 
stones,  ought  one  to  speak  of  his  work  as  a  building, 

1  I  Corinthians,  ii,  13. 


LETTER  TO  PASCHASIUS  17 

when  no  master  has  constructed,  and  no  proper 
foundation  has  been  laid?  So  I,  who  have  with 
difficulty  prepared  and  most  miserably  put  together 
the  precious  material  for  thy  genius,  ought  I  to  be 
thought  to  have  composed  what  I  desire,  when  a 
liberal  education  has  not  fashioned  the  work,  nor 
Hterary  traming  lent  it  elevation  and  elegance  ?  My 
work  has,  indeed,  the  sure  foundation  of  faith  alone; 
that  foundation  upon  which,  as  thou  knowest,  rose 
the  saint's  admirable,  resplendent  virtues;  and  now 
I  commit  the  materials  to  the  architect,  whose  hands 
shall  be  thy  eloquence;  and  when  the  capstone  is 
placed  upon  thy  work,  I  shall  return  due  thanks  to 

Christ. 

I  beg  that  thou  have  the  goodness  to  mention  also 
those  miraculous  cures,  which,  either  on  the  journey  or 
here,  were  wrought  by  divine  virtue  unto  the  memory 
of  the  blessed  father  Severinus.  Smce  the  trusty 
bearer,  thy  son  Deogratias,  best  knows  these,  I  have 
entrusted  to  hun  to  communicate  them  to  thee  by 
word  of  mouth.  And  I  hope  that  I  may  speedily  be 
able  yet  again  to  call  him  bearer  on  the  completion  of 
thy  work;  that  so  this  most  faithful  servant  of  God, 
rich  in  such  great  virtues,  while  he  is  carried  to  the 
glory  of  the  saints  by  his  merits  vouchsafed  through 
Christ's  grace  may  by  thy  pen  be  unmortalized  to 
human  memory. 

It  may  perhaps  be  asked,  and  with  justice,  from 
what  country  Severinus  sprang;  smce  with  this  partic- 
ular it  is  the  custom  to  begin  the  story  of  any  Ufe.     I 


1 8  EUGIPPIUS 

confess  I  have  no  clear  evidence.  For  many  priests 
and  clerics,  and  lords  temporal  and  spiritual,  natives 
of  the  country  or  drawn  together  to  him  from  afar, 
often  debated  the  nationality  of  this  man  of  such  great 
and  resplendent  virtue.  And  they  were  at  a  loss,  but 
no  one  ventured  to  question  him  directly.  There  was, 
however,  a  certain  Primenius,  a  noble  priest  of  Italy, 
and  a  man  of  the  highest  standing,  who  had  fled  to 
him  for  refuge  at  the  time  when  the  patrician  Orestes  ^ 
was  unjustly  slain.  This  man,  it  was  said,  had  been 
Hke  a  father  to  Orestes,  and  therefore  feared  his 
murderers.  He,  then,  having  won  the  saint's  friend- 
ship, and  enjoyed  it  for  many  days,  served  as  spokes- 
man for  the  rest,  and  burst  out  with  the  question. 
"  Reverend  master,"  he  said,  "  from  what  province 
hath  the  great  hght  come,^  which  God  hath  seen  fit  to 
bestow  upon  these  lands  ?  "  The  man  of  God  first 
answered  him  with  a  cheerful  jest,  "  If  thou  thinkest 
me  a  fugitive  slave, ^  prepare  a  ransom  which  thou 
canst  offer  for  me  when  I  am  clauned."  Presently  he 
added,  more  seriously,  "  What  profiteth  it  the  servant 
of  God  to  name  his  country  or  race,  when  by  keeping 

1  Orestes  was  by  birth  a  Roman  provincial  of  Pannonia.  Priscus 
(Bonnae,  1829),  pp.  146,  185;  Jordanes,  De  Rebus  Geticis,  45;  Anon- 
ymus  Valesianus,  38. 

2  J.  H.  von  Falckenstein  neatly  expands  the  metaphor  in  his  ap- 
preciation of  Severinus.  Geschichten  des  grossen  Herzogthums  und 
chemaligen  Konigreichs  Bayern  (Munich,  etc.,  1763),  i,  p.  78. 

2  Fugitivus.  For  the  Roman  law  in  regard  to  fugitive  slaves  and 
their  recovery,  one  may  consult  W.  W.  Buckland,  The  Roman  Law  of 
Slavery  (Cambridge,  England,  1908),  pp.  267-274,  and  the  Codex  Theo- 
dosianus,  x,  1 2,  Si  vagiim  pelakir  mancipium. 


LETTER  TO  PASCHASIUS  1 9 

them  silent  he  can  more  easily  avoid  vainglory  ?  ^ 
For  vainglory  is  like  the  left  hand,  without  whose 
knowledge  ^  he  desireth  through  the  gift  of  Christ  to 
accompUsh  every  good  work;  that  so  he  may  deserve 
to  be  among  those  on  Christ's  right  hand,^  and  to  be 
enrolled  as  a  citizen  of  the  celestial  country.  And  if 
thou  knowest  that  I,  though  unworthy,  truly  desire 
that  celestial  country,  what  need  that  thou  learn  the 
earthly  country  of  which  thou  askest  ?  But  know 
that  the  same  God  who  called  thee  to  the  priesthood, 
commanded  me  also  to  minister  unto  these  perilled 
folk."  The  answer  silenced  Primenius,  nor  did  any 
one  before  or  after  presume  to  question  the  saint  upon 
this  matter. 

Yet  his  speech  revealed  a  man  of  purest  Latin  stock; 
and  it  is  understood  that  he  first  departed  into  some 
desert  place  of  the  East  because  of  his  fervid  desire 
for  a  more  perfect  life,  and  that  thence,  constrained  by 
divine  revelation,  he  later  came  to  the  towns  of  River- 
side Noricum,  near  Upper  Pannonia,  which  were 
harassed  by  frequent  incursions  of  the  barbarians.  So 
he  himself  was  wont  to  hint,  in  obscure  language  as  if 
speaking  of  another,  naming  some  cities  of  the  East, 
and  indicating  that  he  had  passed  by  miracle  through 
the  dangers  of  an  immense  journey.* 


1  "  I 


'  Quo  ipso  non  obscure  indicabat,  magno  se  ortu,  et  cujus  indi- 
cium jactantiae  serviret."  Marcus  Hansitz,  Germania  Sacra  (Augus- 
tae  Vindelicorum,  etc.,  1727-55))  i)  P-  80. 

2  Matthew,  vi,  3.  ^  Matthew,  xxv,  ^z- 

*  The  detailed  account  of  the  early  life  of  Severinus,  given  in  Theo 
Sommerlad's  Die  Lebensbeschreibung  Severins  ah  kuUurgeschichiliche 


20  EUGIPPIUS 

Even  in  the  lifetime  of  Saint  Severinus,  I  never 
heard  other  particulars  in  regard  to  his  native  place 
than  those  I  have  related.  The  testimonies  concern- 
ing his  marvellous  hfe  accompany  this  letter,  arranged 
as  a  memoir,  with  a  table  of  chapters  prefixed.  Grant 
my  request,  and  let  them  gain  greater  fame  through 
thy  editorial  care.^  It  remains  to  ask  that  thou  cease 
not  to  associate  thy  prayers  with  his  for  the  pardon 
of  my  sins. 

Quelle,  pp.  62-68,  needs  mention  only  by  way  of  caution.     Som- 
merlad  carries  ingenuity  to  a  great  excess. 

1  "  It  is  exceedingly  doubtful  whether  the  request  was  seriously 
meant.  Similar  expressions  are  very  common,  which  are  no  more 
than  polite  phrases."  Wilhelm  Wattenbach,  Deutschlands  Geschichts- 
quellen  im  MittelaUer  (6th  ed.,  Berlin,  1893-94),  i,  p.  49. 


TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS 

I.  How  in  the  beginning  Saint  Severinus  won  fame 
in  the  town  which  is  called  Asturis/  by  wholesome 
exhortation  to  good  works  and  by  most  veracious 
prophecy. 

II.  Of  the  town  Comagenis,  which  he  miraculously 
freed  from  the  enemy. 

III.  How  through  his  prayer  God  came  to  the  aid 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Httle  city  Favianis,  who  had 
long  suffered  from  famine. 

IV.  Of  the  barbarian  robbers,  who  lost  their  booty 
which  they  had  taken  without  the  walls  of  Favianis, 
and  all  their  weapons  too;  or,  Of  his  mode  of  life  and 
surpassing  humihty. 

V.  In  how  great  reverence  he  was  held  by  the  king 
of  the  Rugii,  Flaccitheus;  or.  How  Flaccitheus  was 
dehvered  from  the  ambushes  of  the  foe  by  the  oracle. 

VI.  Of  the  Rugian  widow's  only  son,  who  suffered 
tortures  of  pain  for  twelve  years,  and  was  healed 
through  the  prayer  of  the  man  of  God. 

VII.  How  the  youth  Odoacer,  clad  in  wretched 
hides,  was  told  by  him  of  his  kingship  that  was  to 
come. 

1  The  place  names  in  the  ablative  form,  Asturis,  Comagenis, 
Favianis,  etc.,  mark  the  tendency  of  the  provincial  Latin  to  develop 
into  Romance  dialects. 


2  2  TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS 

VIII.   That  Feletheus,  sometimes  called  Feva,  king 

of  the  Rugii,  son  of  Flaccitheus,  mentioned  above,  for 

fear  of  Saint  Severinus  forbade  his  wicked  wife  to 

rebaptize  Catholics ;  or,  What  danger  she  ran  of  losing 

her  Httle  son  Fredericus  one  day  when  she  had  spurned 

the  saint's  intercession  for  certain  persons. 

y         IX.   Of  the  bearer  of  the  remains  of  Saint  Gervasius 

'      and  Saint  Protasius  the  martyrs,  made  known  by  the 

!     marvellous  revelation  of  the  man  of  God;    or.  With 

what  reply  he  refused  the  honorable  ofhce  of  bishop 

^     when  he  was  asked  to  accept  it. 

X.   Of  a  janitor  who  was  one  day  forbidden  to  go  out 
I   I    anywhere,  then  was  taken  by  the  barbarians,  and 
humbly  restored  by  them. 

XL  Of  the  miracle  which  was  wrought  in  the 
castle  of  Cuculhs,  where  the  tapers  were  hghted  by 
divine  power,  and  the  sacrilegious,  who  had  at  first 
concealed  themselves,  were  manifested  and  amended. 

XII.  How  the  locusts  were  expelled  from  the  terri- 
'    tory  of  the  castle  of  Cuculhs,  after  God  had  been  pro- 
pitiated by  fasting  and  prayer  and  almsgi\'ings;  while 
the  patch  of  corn  of  a  certain  poor  man,  an  unbeheving 
scorner,  was  swept  bare. 

XIII.  How  the  taper  was  lighted  in  the  hand  of 
\  I  the  man  of  God  as  he  prayed,  when  the  fire  required 
J  I  by  custom  for  the  evening  service  of  praise  was  not 
\    I      found. 

\   I         XIV.   Of    the    wondrous    healing   of    the   woman 
]     whose  life  was  despaired  of;  who,  after  a  terrible  and 
long  continued  sickness,  was  so  fully  restored  to  health 


i    1 


TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS  23 

by  the  prayer  of  the  man  of  God  that  on  the  third  day 
she  sturdily  betook  herself  to  labor  in  the  fields. 

XV.  How  upon  the  posts  sustaining  the  river  side 
of  the  church,  which  the  water  at  flood  often  more  than 
covered,  the  servant  of  God,  praying,  cut  with  an  axe 
the  sign  of  the  cross;  and  how  thereafter  the  water 
never  rose  above  the  cross. 

XVI.  Of  Silvinus  the  priest  who  died;  and  how, 
after  they  had  watched  through  the  night  at  his  bier, 
the  corpse,  being  addressed,  immediately  opened  his 
eyes,  and  asked  the  servant  of  God,  at  whose  voice  he 
had  come  to  hfe,  that  he  be  not  further  deprived  of  the 
rest  which  he  had  tasted. 

XVII.  How  he  ministered  unto  the  poor  with 
anxious  care;  or.  That  the  Norici  also  were  wont  to 
send  tithes  to  him  for  distribution;  and  that  when 
these  were  brought  to  him  according  to  custom,  he 
foretold  that  danger  threatened  those  who  had  delayed 
to  send. 

XVIII.  How  the  rust,  which  had  appeared  and  was 
about  to  ruin  the  harvests,  was  driven  away  by  the 
man  of  God  through  fasting  and  prayer. 

XIX.  That  Gibuldus,  king  of  the  Alamanni,  was 
smitten  with  great  trembhng  in  the  presence  of  the 
servant  of  God,  and  restored  a  multitude  of  captives. 

XX.  How  the  murder  of  the  soldiers  was  revealed 
to  him,  and  how  he  sent  his  people,  who  did  not  know 
of  it,  to  the  river  to  bury  the  bodies. 

XXI.  As  the  priest  Paulinus,  who  had  come  to  him 
some  time  before,  was  returning  to  his  own  country, 


1 


24  TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS 

he  foretold  that  he  was  to  be  ordained  bishop  of  Nori- 
cum. 

XXII.  That  when  rehcs  were  being  sought  for  a 
new  church,  he  foretold  of  his  own  accord  that  he 
should  bring  to  the  church  the  blessing  of  Saint  John 
the  Baptist,  and  that  in  that  town  while  he  was  away 
there  was  to  be  a  massacre;  in  which  massacre  the 
gabbhng  priest  was  killed  in  the  baptistery. 

XXIII.  How  he  received  the  rehcs  of  Saint  John 
the  Baptist. 

XXIV.  Of  the  inhabitants  of  another  town,  who 
scorned  his  prophetic  commands  and  directly  were 
slain  by  the  HeruH,  because  though  forewarned  they 
would  not  leave  the  place. 

XXV.  How  he  sent  letters  to  Noricum  and  fortified 
^  ^\     the  castles  with  fastings  and  almsgivuigs;    and  how 

the  incursion  of  the  enemy  which  he  foretold  was  not 
f      \    able  to  harm  the  castles. 

XXVI.  Of  the  cleansed  leper,  who  begged  not  to  be 
sent  back  home,  lest  he  might  fall  into  the  leprosy  of 
sin. 

XXVII.  Of  the  victory  which  the  Romans  won  at 
Batavis  over  the  Alamanni  through  the  prayer  of 
Saint  Severinus;  and  how  after  the  triumph  those 
who  scorned  to  follow  his  warning  prophecy  were 
slain. 

XXVIII.  How  as  the  servant  of  God  was  minister- 
ing unto  the  poor,  the  oil  appeared  to  increase. 

XXIX.  Of  the  men  of  Noricum  who  carried  on 
N      their  shoulders  loads  of  clothing  to  be  given  to  the 


TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS  25 

poor;  how  in  midwinter  the  bear  guided  them  through 
the  snows  of  the  desert  to  human  habitations;  and 
how  the  man  of  God,  with  his  wonted  gift  of  revelation, 
knew  what  had  led  them. 

XXX.  How  he  divined  that  the  foe  would  come  the 
next  night  against  the  city  of  Lauriacum,  and  with 
difficulty  persuaded  the  citizens,  who  dwelt  in  false 
security,  to  keep  watch;  and  how  in  the  morning  they 
declared  that  he  had  done  well,  and  thanked  him,  and 
asked  pardon  for  their  unbeHef . 

XXXI.  How  he  met  Feva,  king  of  the  Rugii,  who 
was  coming  up  against  Lauriacum  with  his  army,  and 
received  the  peoples  in  his  guardian  care,  to  conduct 
them  to  the  lower  towns,  i.  e.,  those  nearer  the  Rugii. 

XXXII.  How  King  Odoacer  requested  that  he 
should  ask  him  some  favor,  and  at  the  word  of  the 
servant  of  God  recalled  one  Ambrosius  from  exile ;  and 
how  the  servant  of  God  foretold  to  the  king's  flatterers 
how  many  years  he  was  to  reign. 

XXXIII.  Of  the  son  of  one  of  the  nobles  of  the 
king  of  the  Rugii,  who  in  the  town  Comagenis  was 
made  whole  by  the  prayer  of  the  man  of  God. 

XXXIV.  How  a  leper,  Tejo  by  name,  was  cleansed. 

XXXV.  Of  Bonosus  the  monk,  who,  when  he 
complained  of  weak  eyes,  was  told  by  the  saint,  "  Pray 
rather  that  thou  may  see  more  with  the  heart  "  :  and 
thereupon  he  earned  a  wonderful  power  of  endurance 
in  prayer. 

XXXVI.  Of  the  three  proud  monks,  whom  he 
delivered  to  Satan,  that  their  spirits  might  be  saved. 


26  TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS 

As  to  this  matter  he  rendered  a  most  faithful  account 
in  its  own  place,  quoting  the  examples  of  two  of  the 
Fathers. 

XXXVII.  How  he  signified  the  hour  of  tribula- 
tion of  Marcianus  and  Renatus,  his  monks,  which 
they  underwent  while  in  another  province;  and  en- 
joined prayer  upon  the  other  brothers,  who  were  with 
him. 

XXXVIII.  Of  the  dangers  of  the  deadly  pustule, 
which  by  revelation  he  foretold  forty  days  in  advance 
was  to  come  to  Ursus  the  monk,  and  which  he  healed 
by  prayer. 

XXXIX.  Of  the  saint's  habitation,  his  bed  also 
and  diet,  a  few  things  are  briefly  mentioned. 

XL.  How,  when  through  the  revelation  of  God  he 
perceived  that  his  departure  was  near,  he  spoke  to 
King  Feva  and  the  wicked  queen,  and  ceased  not  to 
forewarn  his  own  followers  of  his  death:  foretelling 
that  a  general  removal  of  the  people  was  at  hand,  and 
commanding  that  his  body  should  be  carried  away  at 
the  same  time. 

XLI.  How  he  expressly  announced  even  the  day 
of  his  death  to  Saint  Lucillus  the  priest. 

XLII.  How  he  adjured  Ferderuchus,  brother  of 
King  Feva;  and  advised  his  own  followers. 

XLIII.  Of  his  death;  or.  What  advice  he  gave  his 
followers  in  his  long  final  exhortation. 

XLIV.  What  Ferderuchus  wrought  against  the 
monastery  after  his  decease;  how  Ferderuchus  was 
punished;   how  the  saint's  oracle  was  fulfilled  by  the 


TABLE  OF  CHAPTERS  27 

prosperous  migration  of  the  people;  how  his  body  was 
disinterred  and  removed  in  a  wagon. 

XLV.  Of  the  heahng  at  that  tune  of  many  infirm 
persons.  A  recital  of  individual  cases  is  omitted;  only 
the  story  of  one  dumb  man  is  told,  who  was  made 
whole  by  praying  under  the  wagon,  while  the  body  yet 
remained  on  it. 

XL VI.  Of  the  faith  of  Barbaria,  a  lady  of  rank, 
who  built  a  mausoleum  for  the  body;  and  of  the 
reception  by  the  people  of  Naples.  Although  many 
were  then  healed  of  divers  diseases,  the  particulars  are 
related  in  three  instances  only. 


THE 
LIFE  OF  SAINT  SEVERINUS 

CHAPTER  I 

At  the  time  of  the  death  of  Attila,  king  of  the  Huns/ 
confusion  reigned  in  the  two  Pannonias  and  the  other 
borderlands  of  the  Danube.  Then  Severinus,  most 
holy  servant  of  God,  came  from  the  parts  of  the  East 
to  the  marches  of  Riverside  Noricum  ^  and  the  Pan- 
nonias, and  tarried  in  a  little  town  which  is  called 
Asturis.^  There  he  lived  in  accordance  with  the 
evangeUcal  and  apostohc  doctrine,  in  all  piety  and 
chastity,  in  the  confession  of  the  Cathohc  faith,  and 
fulfilled  his  reverend  purpose  by  holy  works.  By 
such  exercises  strengthened,  he  innocently  sought  the 
crown  of  the  celestial  calhng;  and  one  day,  as  was  his 
wont,  went  forth  to  the  church.  Then  the  priests,  the 
clergy,  and  the  citizens  were  fetched,  and  he  began  in 
all  humihty  of  mind  to  prophesy,  how  they  ought  to 

^  In  453- 

2  Noricum  Ripense.  Rodenberg  renders  by  the  German  equiva- 
lent, Ufernoricum.  In  the  translation  of  Professor  Hayes,  Ufernori- 
cum,  both  here  and  in  Chapter  XI,  becomes  '  Upper  Noricum,'  which 
is  not  a  happy  guess. 

'  Probably  on  the  site  of  the  present  Klostemeuburg,  a  little  above 
Vienna. 

39 


30  EUGIPPIUS 

ward  off  the  threatening  snares  of  the  enemy  by 
prayers,  and  by  fastings,  and  by  the  fruits  of  com- 
passion. But  their  stubborn  hearts,  defiled  by  fleshly 
lusts,  proved  the  oracles  of  the  prophet  by  the  decision 
of  their  unbelief.  Yet  the  servant  of  God  returned  to 
the  lodging  where  the  sacristan  ^  of  the  church  had 
received  him,  and  made  known  the  day  and  hour  of 
imminent  destruction.  "I  go  in  haste,"  he  said, 
"  from  a  stubborn  town  that  shall  swiftly  perish." 

Then  he  went  away  to  the  next  town,  which  is  called 
Comagenis.2  This  was  very  strictly  guarded  by  the 
barbarians  estabHshed  within,  who  had  entered  into 
a  league  ^  with  the  Romans,  and  it  was  not  easy  for 
any  one  to  secure  permission  to  go  in  or  to  leave.  Yet, 
though  they  knew  him  not,  they  neither  questioned 
the  servant  of  God,  nor  turned  him  back.  So  anon  he 
went  into  the  church;  and  when  he  found  all  in  despair 

1  Custos.  The  office  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  that  of  janitor 
or  doorkeeper  {ostiarius)  mentioned  in  Chapters  X  and  XVI,  below. 
Isidorus  Hispalensis,  De  Ecclenaslkis  Offi.ciis,  ii,  9,  says:  "  Custodes 
sacrarii,  Levitae  sunt.  Ipsis  enim  jussum  est  custodire  tabernaculum, 
et  omnia  vasa  tenipli  .  .  .  praeferentes  speciem  gravitatis."  In  his 
Regula  Monachorum,  20,  he  describes  somewhat  more  fully  the  duties 
of  the  position  in  a  monastery  church:  "  Ad  custodem  sacrarii 
pertinet  cura  vel  custodia  templi,  signum  quoque  dandi  in  vespertinis 
nocturnisque  officiis;  vela,  vestesque  sacrae,  ac  vasa  sacrorum, 
codices  quoque  instrumentaque  cuncta,  oleum  in  usum  sanctuarii, 
cera  et  luminaria." 

2  NearTulln. 

8  A  euphemism.  Marcus  Velserus  justly  remarks,  "  Quam  misera 
et  deplorata  illis  temporibus  harum  provinciarum  fuerit  conditio,  ex 
uno  isto  foedere  satis  superque  colUgi  poterat,  nisi  reliqua  omnis  in 
id  argumentum  conspiraret."     Opera  (Norimbergae,  1682),  p.  667. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  31 

of  their  safety,  he  exhorted  them  to  be  armed  with 
fasting  and  prayers  and  ahnsgivings,  and  set  forth 
examples  of  salvation  from  of  old,  in  which  the  pro- 
tection of  God  had  freed  his  people  in  unforeseen  and 
wondrous  ways.  And  when  they  hesitated  to  believe 
one  who  at  the  very  crisis  of  peril  promised  the  safety 
of  all,  the  old  man  came  who  at  Asturis  had  long  been 
the  host  of  Severinus  (how  great  a  guest !) .  When  the 
guards  at  the  gates  anxiously  questioned  the  old  man, 
his  deportment  and  words  revealed  the  destruction  of 
his  town.  He  added  that  it  was  destroyed  on  the 
same  day  that  a  certain  man  of  God  had  foretold. 
When  they  heard  this,  they  eagerly  replied,  "  Thinkest 
thou  he  is  the  same,  who  in  our  despair  promises  us  the 
assistance  of  God  ?  "  Then  straightway  the  old  man 
recognized  the  servant  of  God  within  the  church,  and 
cast  himself  at  his  feet,  saying  that  through  his  kind- 
ness he  had  been  spared  the  destruction  which  had 
overtaken  liis  townsmen. 


CHAPTER  II 

When  they  had  heard  these  things,  the  inhabitants  of 
Comagenis  begged  forgiveness  for  their  unbelief,  and 
obeyed  with  holy  works  the  admonitions  of  the  man  of 
God.  They  made  a  fast,  and  assembled  in  the  church 
for  the  space  of  three  days,  reproaching  their  past  sins 
with  groans  and  lamentations.  But  on  the  third  day, 
during  the  celebration  of  the  evening  sacrifice,  there 


32  EUGIPPIUS 

was  a  sudden  earthquake;^  and  the  barbarians  who 
dwelt  within  the  city  were  so  terrorsmitten  that  they 
compelled  the  Romans  to  open  the  gates  for  them  in 
haste.  Then  they  rushed  out  tumultuously,  and 
scattered,  supposing  themselves  besieged  and  sur- 
rounded by  near  foes;  and  their  terror  was  augmented 
by  divine  influence,  so  that,  in  the  wanderings  and 
confusion  of  the  night,  they  slew  one  another  with  the 
sword.  Thus  utter  destruction  consumed  the  enemy; 
and  the  people,  saved  by  the  divine  aid,  learned 
through  the  saint  to  fight  with  heavenly  arms. 

1  I  think  it  probable  that  this  is  the  earthquake  mentioned  in 
Anonymus  Cuspiniani,  Chronicon  (in  Thomas  Roncalhus,  Vetustiora 
Chronica,  Patavii,  1787,  ii,  col.  124)  under  the  year  455:  "  eversa  est 
Sabaria  a  Terraemotu  VII.  idus  septemb.  die  Veneris  ";  and  in  the 
same  words,  and  imder  the  same  year,  in  the  Excerptiim  Sangallense 
(in  Karl  Frick,  Chronica  Minora,  vol.  i,  1892,  p.  422).  Sabaria  was 
in  Upper  Pannonia,  about  seventy  miles  southeast  of  Comagenis  in  a 
straight  line,  or  ninety-two  Roman  miles  by  road.  Antonini  Augusti 
Itinerarium,  pp.  233  f.  Wesseling. 

The  date  of  this  earthquake  as  given  in  the  chronicles  clearly  can- 
not be  correct.  The  Friday  before  the  Ides  fell,  in  September  455,  on 
the  Qth,  not  on  the  7th.  I  suggest  accordingly  that,  following 
C.  F.  Roesler  {Chronica  Medii  Aevi,  Tubingae,  1798,  i,  p.  341), 
we  make  the  obvious  emendation,  and  read  "  V.  idus  Septembres  die 
Veneris."  Theodor  Mommsen  (Chronica  Minora,  BerUn,  1892-98,  i, 
p.  304;  in  Monumenta  German iae  Historica)  suggests  the  reading 
"  IV.,"  "  nisi  in  anno  erratum  est  ";  but  he  cannot  be  right.  One 
might,  it  is  true,  reach  his  result  by  using  inadvertently  a  table  like 
that  in  Sir  Harris  Nicolas's  The  Chronology  of  History  (London,  1835), 
p.  49,  which  contains  the  dominical  letters  for  4000  years  after  the 
Christian  era,  according  to  the  New  Style.  The  New  Style,  however, 
does  not  apply  to  the  fifth  century. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  33 


CHAPTER  in 

At  the  same  time  a  cruel  famine  had  prostrated  a  city        j 
named  Favianis/  and  the  inhabitants  believed  that        1 
their  only  remedy  would  be  by  devout  prayers  to        j 
invite  the  man  of  God  from  the  town  of  Comagenis.         i 
He  foreknew  that  they  would  come  to  him,  and  was         j 
moved  by  the  Lord  to  go  with  them.     When  he  had         | 
come  thither,  he  began  to  exhort  the  people  of  the         j 
city,  saying,  "  By  the  fruits  of  repentance  ye  shall  be 
able  to  be  freed  from  so  great  a  calamity  of  hunger." 
While  they  were  profiting  by  such  instructions,  moSt 
blessed  Severinus  learned  by  divine  revelation  that  a 
certain  widow,  Procula  by  name,  had  concealed  much 
produce  of  the  fields.    He  called  her  before  the  people, 
and  vehemently  rebuked  her.      "  Daughter  of  most 
noble  parents,"  he  said,  "  why  dost  thou  make  thy- 
self the  handmaid  of  avarice  and  stand  forth  the  slave 
of  covetousness,  which    is,  as  the  apostle  teaches, 
idolatry  ?  ^      Lo,  the  Lord  in  his  compassion  hath 
regard  for  his  servants;  and  thou  shalt  not  have  any 
use  for  thine  ill-gotten  wealth,  except  to  cast  into  the 
stream  of  the  Danube  the  corn  too  long  withheld,  and 
so  to  exhibit  to  fishes  the  humanity  which  thou  hast 

1  On  the  Danube  between  Tulln  and  Lorch;  perhaps  near  the 
site  of  the  present  town  of  Mautern. 

2  Colossians,  iii,  5 ;  Ephesians,  v,  5.  Of  these  passages  the  former  is 
of  course  the  one  to  which  direct  reference  is  made.  Bolland,  Sauppe, 
Rodenberg,  Knoell,  and  Mommsen,  all  have  followed  Surius  in  giving 
only  the  reference  to  Ephesians,  which  is  purely  secondary. 


34  EUGIPPIUS 

denied  to  men  I  Wherefore  aid  thyself  rather  than  the 
poor  from  those  things  which  thou  yet  thinkest  to 
keep,  while  Christ  hungers."  ^  When  she  heard  these 
sayings,  the  woman  was  filled  with  great  fear  and 
trembling;  and  began  willingly  to  expend  her  hoards 
for  the  poor. 

Not  long  after,  there  unexpectedly  appeared  at  the 

bank  of  the  Danube  a  vast  number  of  boats  from  the 

Raetias,  laden  with  great  quantities  of  merchandise, 

which  had  been  hindered  for  many  days  by  the  thick 

I    ice  of  the  river  Aenus.^     When  at  last  God's  command 

I    had  loosed  the  ice,  they  brought  down  an  abundance 

I    of  food  to  the  famine-stricken.      Then  all  began  to 

i    praise    God    with    uninterrupted    devotion,    as    the 

'    bestower  of  unhoped  rehef;   for  they  had  expected  to 

I    perish,  wasted  by  the  long  famine,  and  they  acknowl- 

I    edged  that  manifestly  the  boats  had  come  out  of  due 

/    season,  loosed  from  the  ice  and  frost  by  the  prayers  of 

i    the  servant  of  God.^ 

I  1  Matthew,    xxv,    35-42;    Salvian,    Adversus   Avaritiam,    iv,    4: 

I      "  Christus  .  .  .  cum  esurientibus  esurit  .  .  .  quid  ais,  o  homo,  qui 
Christianum  te  esse  dicis,  .  .  .  Christus  esurit,  et  tu  delitias  affluen- 
tibus  paras  ?  " 
2  The  Inn. 

2  "  Cahdis  Severini  precibus  solutae."  Andreas  Brunner,  Anna- 
Hum  Boicorum  Partes  III  (ed.  nova,  Francofurti  ad  Moenum,  1710), 
col.  118. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  35 

CHAPTER  IV 

At  the  same  time  barbarian  robbers  made  an  unex- 
pected plundering  incursion,  and  led  away  captive  all 
the  men  and  cattle  they  found  without  the  walls. 
Then  many  of  the  citizens  flocked  weeping  to  the  man 
of  God,  recounted  to  him  the  destructive  calamity 
that  had  come  upon  them,  and  showed  him  evidences 
of  the  recent  rapine. 

But  he   straitly   questioned  Mamertinus,   then   a 
tribune,  who  afterwards  was  ordained  bishop,  whether 
he  had  with  him   any  armed  men  with  whom  to 
institute  an  energetic  pursuit  of  the  robbers.     Mamer- 
tinus replied,  "  I  have  soldiers,  a  very  few.     But  I 
dare  not  contend  with  such  a  host  of  enemies.     How- 
ever, if  thou  commandest  it,  venerable  father,  though 
we  lack  the  aid  of  weapons  yet  we  beUeve  that  through 
thy  prayers  we  shall  be  victorious."     And  the  servant 
of  God  said,  "  Even  if  thy  soldiers  are  unarmed,  they 
shall  now  be  armed  from  the  enemy.      For  neither 
numbers  nor  fleshly  courage  is  required,  when  every- 
thing proves  that  God  is  our  champion.     Only  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  advance   swiftly,  advance  confi- 
dently.     For    when    God  in  his   compassion    goes 
before,   the  weakest  shall  seem  the  bravest.     The 
Lord   shall  fight  for  you,i  and  ye   shall  be  silent. 
Then  make  haste ;   and  this  one  thing  observe  above 
everything,  to  conduct  unharmed  into  my  presence 
those  of  the  barbarians  whom  thou  shalt  take." 

1  Exodus,  xiv,  14. 


2,6  EUGIPPIUS 

Then  they  went  forth.  At  the  second  milestone,  by 
a  brook  which  is  called  Tiguntia,  they  came  upon  the 
foe.  Some  of  the  robbers  escaped  by  hasty  flight, 
abandoning  their  weapons.  The  soldiers  bound  the 
rest  and  brought  them  captive  to  the  servant  of  God, 
as  he  had  commanded.  He  freed  them  from  chains, 
refreshed  them  with  food  and  drink,  and  briefly  ad- 
dressed them.  ''  Go,"  he  said,  "  and  command  your 
confederates  not  to  dare  to  approach  this  place  again 
in  their  lust  for  booty.  For  the  judgment  and  retri- 
bution of  heaven  shall  straightway  punish  them,  since 
God  fights  for  his  servants,  whom  his  supernal  power 
is  wont  so  to  protect  that  hostile  missiles  do  not  inflict 
wounds  upon  them,  but  rather  furnish  them  with 
arms."  Then  the  barbarians  were  sent  away;  and  he 
rejoiced  over  the  miracles  of  Christ,  and  promised 
that  through  Christ's  compassion  Favianis  should 
have  no  further  experience  of  hostile  pillage;  only  let 
neither  prosperity  nor  adversity  withdraw  the  citizens 
from  the  work  of  God. 

Then  Saint  Severinus  withdrew  into  a  more  remote 
spot,  which  was  called  Ad  Vineas,  where  a  small  cell 
contented  him.^  But  he  was  compelled  by  a  divine 
revelation  to  return  to  Favianis;  ^  so  that,  though  the 

^  Georg  Kaufmarm  says,  "  Seine  Wohnung  war  eine  Zelle,  oft  auch 
eine  Hohle."  Deutsche  Gesckichte  bis  auf  Karl  den  Grossen  (Leipsic, 
1880-81),  ii,  p.  25.     I  find  this  cavern  only  in  Kaufmann's  work. 

2  Favianis  was  long  identified  with  Vienna  by  an  erroneous  tradi- 
tion. Joannes  Cuspinianus,  the  great  sixteenth  century  scholar, 
believed  that  his  estate  in  the  suburbs  of  Vienna  comprised  Ad  Vineas 
and  the  cell  of  Severinus.     Austria  (Francofurti,  1601),  pp.  55,  69: 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  37 

quiet  of  his  cell  was  dear  to  him,  he  yet  obeyed  the 
commands  of  God  and  built  a  monastery  not  far  from 
the  city.^  There  he  began  to  instruct  great  numbers 
in  the  sacred  way  of  Ufe,  training  the  souls  of  his 
hearers  rather  by  deeds  than  by  words.^     He  often 

"  Villam  enim  S.  Severini,  ubi  cellam  habuit  pius  pater  S.  Severinus, 
jam  ego  possideo,  ubi  nobilissima  crescunt  vineta,  arboribus  illic 
desectis  ac  purgatis.  ...  a  sancto  Severino  patria  lingua  Severin 
appellatur." 

Cuspinianus  calls  Severinus  "  second  apostle  of  Austria  "  (secim- 
dariiis  Austriae  apostolus,  alter  Anstralium  apostolus),  the  first  being 
Quirinus,  and  reckons  him  among  the  six  patron  saints  of  that  coun- 
try: the  martyrs  Quirinus,  Maximilian,  Florian;  Severinus;  Coknan 
the  Irish  pilgrim;  Margrave  Leopold  III  the  Pious.  On  p.  70  of  his 
Austria  is  printed  a  poem  by  Joannes  Stabius,  "  In  Sanctos  Austriae 
Patronos  Precatio,"  in  forty-six  hexameter  verses.  The  poem  con- 
tains, however,  nothing  which  seems  to  have  individual  reference  to 
Severinus,  unless  it  be  in  vv.  32-38: 

"  Praesidio  semper  secura  sit  Austria  vestro. 
Morborum  omne  genus,  quae  corpora  nostra  fatigant, 
Infandumque  malum,  crudelem  avertite  pestem. 
Sit  flavae  Cereris,  laeti  sit  copia  Bacchi: 
Tartareo  sonitu  reboent  nee  classica  Martem, 
Sed  Pax  alma  ferens  ramum  felicis  olivae 
Illustret  terras,  soror  et  Concordia  mitis." 

1  It  will  be  noted  that  the  monasteries  founded  by  Saint  Severinus 
were  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  cities.  F.  W.  Rettberg  calls 
attention  to  this  fact,  and  to  its  accordance  with  the  monastic  rule  of 
Saint  Basil  the  Great:  with  which,  he  suggests,  Severinus  may  have 
become  familiar  during  his  wanderings  in  the  Orient.  Kirchenge- 
schkhte  Dentschlands  (Gottingen,  1846-48),  i,  p.  231.  Compare  E.  C. 
Butler's  article  "  Basilian  Monks,"  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica 
(nth  ed.). 

'  Wolfgang  Lazius,  using  a  singular  figure,  says  that  "  from  this 
monastery,  as  if  from  the  Trojan  horse,  went  forth  almost  all  the 
bishops  of  Noricum."   Vienna  Austriae  (Basileae,  1546),  p.  54.  Lazius 


7,8  EUGIPPIUS 

withdrew,  indeed,  to  a  solitary  habitation,  called  by 
the  neighbors  Burgum,  a  mile  from  Favianis,  that  he 
might  avoid  the  throngs  of  men  that  kept  coming  to 
him,  and  cleave  to  God  in  uninterrupted  prayer.  But 
the  more  he  desired  to  inhabit  solitude,  the  more  was 
he  warned  by  frequent  revelations  not  to  deny  his 
presence  to  the  afflicted  peoples. 

And  so  day  by  day  his  merit  grew,  and  the  fame  of 
his  virtues  increased,  and  this  spread  far  and  wide, 
and  was  extended  by  the  marks  of  celestial  favor  con- 
ferred upon  him.  For  good  things  cannot  be  concealed, 
since,  according  to  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  neither 
can  a  candle  be  concealed  under  a  bushel,  nor  a  city 
that  is  set  on  a  hill  be  hid.^ 

Among  the  other  great  gifts  which  the  Saviour  had 
bestowed  upon  him  stood  out  the  gift  of  abstinence. 
He  subdued  his  flesh  by  innumerable  fasts,  teaching 
that  the  body,  if  nourished  with  too  abundant  food, 
will  straightway  bring  destruction  upon  the  soul.  He 
wore  no  shoes  whatever.  So  at  midwinter,  which  in 
those  regions  is  a  time  of  cruel,  numbing  cold,  he  gave 
a  remarkable  proof  of  endurance  by  being  always  will- 
ing to  walk  barefoot.  A  well-known  proof  of  the 
terrible  cold  is  afforded  by  the  Danube,  which  is  often 
so  soHdly  frozen  by  the  fierce  frost  that  it  affords  a 
secure  crossing  even  for  carts.^      Yet  he  whom  the 

gives  a  list  of  these  bishops,  which  Marcus  Hansitz  handles  very 
roughly.     Germania  Sacra,  i,  pp.  74,  85  ff. 

*  Matthew,  v,  14,  15. 

*  Jordanes  {De  Rebus  Geticis,  55)  says  that  the  Danube  "  freezes 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  39 

grace  of  God  had  elevated  by  such  virtues  was  wont 
to  make  acknowledgment  with  utmost  humility,  and 
to  say,  "  Think  not  that  what  ye  see  is  of  my  merit. 
It  is  rather  an  example  for  your  salvation.  Let  the 
foolhardiness  of  man  cease.  Let  the  pride  of  exalta- 
tion be  restrained.  That  we  can  do  anything  good, 
we  are  chosen;  as  the  apostle  ^  saith,  '  He  hath  chosen 
us  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should 
be  holy  and  without  blame  before  him.'  ^  Pray  rather 
in  my  behalf  that  the  gifts  of  the  Saviour  to  me  may 
serve  not  for  greater  condemnation,  but  for  increase  of 

so  hard  that  it  will  support  like  a  solid  rock  an  army  of  infantry,  and 
carts  and  sleds,  or  whatsoever  vehicles  there  may  be." 

It  is  probable  that  modern  regulation  of  the  current  of  the  Danube 
by  engineering  works  has  had  a  tendency  to  prevent  the  formation  of 
extensive  ice  fields.  Yet  even  now  the  stream  is  frozen  annually  in 
Lower  Hungary  throughout  several  long  stretches,  which  at  the  height 
of  the  frost  can  occasionally  be  crossed  with  carts  or  sleds.  In  Ba- 
varia, Austria,  and  Rumania,  field  ice  does  not  form  every  winter. 
Yet  it  sometimes  happens  even  at  Vienna  —  most  recently  in  Janu- 
ary, 1901  —  that  the  ice  is  strong  enough  to  allow  foot  travellers 
a  safe  passage  across  the  river. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  Imperial-Royal  Central  Bureau  of  Hydro- 
graphy at  Vienna  for  the  information  contained  in  the  above  para- 
graph. One  may  consult  also  Anton  Swarowsky's  essay  Die  Eisver- 
haltnisse  der  Donau  in  Bayern  und  Oslerreich  von  iS^o-go,  in  Geograph- 
ische  Ahhandliingen,  edited  by  Albrecht  Penck,  Band  v.  Heft  i 
(Vienna  and  Olmiitz,  1891);  and,  for  notices  of  the  great  frosts  of  821 
and  1076-77,  Fritz  Curschmann's  Hungersnole  im  Mittelalter  (Leipsic, 
1900),  pp.  94,  121. 

1  It  may  be  noted  that  in  Eugippius  the  expression  '  the  apostle  ' 
always  refers  to  Saint  Paul.  Eugippius  never  bestows  upon  Severi- 
nus  the  appellation  '  apostle  of  Noricum  '  {apostolus  Norici  or  aposto- 
lus Noricorum),  later  so  common. 

^  Ephesians,  i,  4. 


40  EUGIPPIUS 

justification."  This  and  the  Hke  he  was  wont  to 
declare,  weeping.  Thus  he  taught  men  humility  by 
his  wondrous  example.  Standing  on  the  secure  foun- 
dation of  this  virtue,  he  shone  with  so  great  a  splendor 
of  the  divine  gift  that  even  the  very  enemies  of  the 
church,  the  heretics,  honored  him  with  most  reverent 
courtesy. 

CHAPTER  V 

The  king  of  the  Rugii,  Flaccitheus,^  began  to  feel  him- 
self unsteady  on  the  throne  at  the  very  commencement 
of  his  reign.  The  Goths  in  Lower  Pannonia  were 
violently  hostile  to  him,  and  he  was  alarmed  by  their 
innumerable  multitude.  Therefore  in  his  perils  he 
asked  counsel  of  most  blessed  Severinus  as  of  a 
heavenly  oracle.  Once  he  came  to  him  in  exceeding 
confusion,  and  declared  with  tears  that  he  had  asked 
of  the  princes  of  the  Goths  a  passage  to  Italy,  and 

1  A  genealogical  table  of  the  Rugian  royal  house  may  be  of  service. 
Numerals  in  parentheses  refer  to  the  chapters  in  which  the  individuals 
are  mentioned. 

Flaccitheus  (s,  8,  42). 


Feletheus,  or  Feva   (8,   22  ?,   31,  Ferderuchus  (42,  44) 

33,  40,  42,  44) 

married 
Giso  (8,  40,  44) 

I 
Fredericus  (8,  44) 

Feba,  named  in  Chapter  XXII,  is  probably  the  same  as  Feletheus, 

or  Feva. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  41 

that,  as  they  had  denied  this  request,  he  did  not  doubt 
that  they  would  put  him  to  death.  Then  Flaccitheus 
received  this  reply  from  the  man  of  God:  "  If  the  one 
CathoHc  faith  united  us,  thou  oughtest  rather  to  con- 
sult me  concerning  eternal  life;  ^  but  since  thou  art 

1  A  comparison  of  this  passage  with  the  reference,  in  Chapter  VIII, 
to  Queen  Giso's  attempt  "  to  rebaptize  certain  Catholics,"  makes  it 
evident  that  the  Rugii,  or  at  least  their  sovereigns,  were,  like  most  of 
the  converted  Germans  of  the  fifth  century  and  even  later.  Christians 
of  the  Arian  sect.  The  fact  that  the  Rugii  were  Arians  while  the  pro- 
vincials were  Catholics  cooperated  with  the  difference  of  race  to  pro- 
duce a  lack  of  complete  sympathy  and  understanding  between  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  was  entirely  natural  that  the  Rugii,  as  Chris- 
tians, should  assume  the  position  towards  the  provincials  that  we  find 
them  occupying  more  and  more,  of  protectors  against  the  depredations 
of  the  German  tribes  that  remained  heathen:  Alamanni  and  Thuringi 
(Chapter  XXXI,  below,  etc.);  Heruli  (Chapter  XXIV);  no  doubt 
also  the  Franks  and  Saxons,  whom  Ennodius  {De  Vila  Beati  Anloni, 
12-14)  names  in  connection  with  the  Heruli  as  devastators  of  the 
Paimonias  during  the  ninth  decade  of  the  fifth  century  —  cruel  as 
wild  beasts;  turning  a  populous  land  into  a  desert;  worshipping  gods 
who,  they  believed,  could  be  propitiated  only  by  human  victims; 
slaughtering  clerics  by  preference,  as  the  sacrifices  most  acceptable  to 
their  divinities. 

Dr.  Juhus  von  Pflugk-Harttung's  vividly  worded  description  of  life 
in  Noricum  in  the  time  of  Severinus  (Allgemeine  Weltgeschichte,  iv, 
p.  231)  is  somewhat  confusing,  because  of  his  failure  to  point  out 
clearly  this  distinctive  position  of  the  Rugii.  He  says,  "  They  and 
their  neighbor-tribes,  Thuringi,  Heruli,  Alamanni,  and  Goths,  came 
from  beyond  the  Danube  in  uninterrupted  forays."  There  is  no  men- 
tion in  the  Life  of  '  forays '  on  the  part  of  the  Rugii,  except  in  the 
strictly  technical  sectarian  sense  of  the  confiscation  of  the  monastery 
plate  and  furniture  (Chapter  XLIV)  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  them- 
selves suffered  from  plundering  raids,  as  the  next  paragraph  shows. 
Dr.  Pflugk-Harttung's  reference  to  the  Goths  (Ostrogoths)  is  also  not 
to  the  point.  They  lived,  not  beyond  the  Danube  but  in  Parmonia, 
on  the  Roman  side  of  the  river  (Jordanes,  De  Rebus  Geticis,  50).   Fur- 


42  EUGIPPIUS 

anxious  only  over  present  safety,  which  is  of  common 
concern  to  us  both,  hear  my  instruction.  Be  not 
troubled  by  the  multitude  of  the  Goths  or  by  their 
enmity.  They  shall  soon  depart  and  leave  thee 
secure,  and  thou  shalt  reign  in  the  prosperity  which 
thou  hast  desired.  Only  do  not  neglect  the  warn- 
ings of  my  humility.  Let  it  not  irk  thee  to  seek 
peace  even  with  the  least;  never  lean  upon  thine  own 
strength.  '  Cursed  be  the  man,'  saith  the  Scripture, 
'  that  trusteth  in  man,  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm,  and 
whose  heart  departeth  from  the  Lord.'i  Learn 
therefore  to  beware  of  snares,  not  to  lay  them:  and 
thou  shalt  die  in  thy  bed  -  with  a  peaceful  end." 

ther,  they  were  Christians,  partially  civiHzed,  and  usually  in  alliance 
with  the  Romans  against  their  barbarian  enemies.  After  the  death 
,  of  Attila  there  appears  to  have  been  only  one  period,  comprising  a  few 
months  of  the  year  473,  in  which  the  Ostrogoths  were  hostile  to  the 
Western  Empire  {ibid.,  56).  It  is  to  that  time  that  we  may  very  rea- 
sonably assign  their  attack  upon  Tiburnia  in  Noricum  Mediterraneum 
(Chapter  XVII). 

It  is  regrettable  that  The  Cambridge  Medieval  History,  i  (191 1) 
repeats  the  false  view  of  the  position  of  the  Rugii.  Mr.  Ernest  Bar- 
ker, the  writer  of  chapter  xiv  therein,  "Italy  and  the  West,  410-476," 
says  (p.  420)  "  The  Rugii  .  .  .  appear  in  the  history  of  the  time  .  .  . 
as  vexing  with  their  inroads  the  parts  of  Noricum  which  lay  imme- 
diately south  of  the  river.  The  Life  of  Saint  Severinus  .  .  .  describes 
their  depredations  ";  and  again  (p.  425),  "  Parallel  in  some  ways  to 
the  position  of  Marcellinus  and  Aegidius  is  the  beneficent  theocracy 
which  Saint  Severinus  established  about  the  same  time  in  Noricum,  a 
masterless  province  unprotected  by  Rome,  and  harassed  by  the  raids 
of  the  Rugii  from  the  north  of  the  river." 

'  Jeremiah,  xvii,  5. 

^  In  lechdo  luo.  Rodenberg  renders  atif  deinem  Lager:  Professor 
Hayes  has  "  in  thine  own  camp." 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  43 

As  Flaccitheus,  encouraged  by  this  oracle,  was  joy- 
fully departing,  a  message  was  brought  to  him  that  a 
band  of  plundering  barbarians  had  taken  captive 
some  of  the  Rugii.  Straightway  he  sent  to  the  man 
of  God  to  ask  his  counsel.  Severinus,  by  revelation  of 
the  Lord,  forewarned  Flaccitheus  with  holy  exhorta- 
tions not  to  follow  the  robbers.  "  If  thou  follow  them," 
he  said,  "  thou  wilt  be  slain.  Take  heed;  cross  not 
the  stream;  be  not  taken  unawares  and  overcome  by 
the  triple  ambush  which  has  been  prepared  for  thee! 
For  speedily  a  trusty  messenger  will  come,  who  shall 
inform  thee  concerning  all  these  matters."  Then 
two  of  the  captives,  fleeing  from  the  camp  of  the 
enemy,  related  in  order  those  things  which  the  most 
blessed  man  had  foretold  by  revelation  of  Christ. 
So  the  hostile  ambush  came  to  naught,  and  Flac- 
citheus was  prospered  more  and  more,  and  ended  his 
days  in  peace  and  tranquillity. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Now  after  this  one  of  the  Rugii  suffered  incredible 
pain  from  gout  for  twelve  years,  and  lost  all  use  of  his 
limbs.  His  intolerable  torments  were  so  long  con- 
tinued that  they  became  well  known  to  the  neighbors 
on  every  side.  So  at  last,  when  divers  remedies 
availed  nothing,  his  mother,  a  widow,  put  her  son  in  a 
cart,  and  having  brought  him  to  the  saint,  laid  him 
down  in  his  desperate  sickness  at  the  door  of  the 


44  EUGIPPIUS 

monastery,  and  prayed  with  many  tears  that  her  only 
son  might  be  restored  to  her  whole. 

But  the  man  of  God,  perceiving  that  great  things 
were  demanded  of  him,  and  moved  by  her  weeping, 
said:  "  Why  am  I  oppressed  by  a  deceitful  fancy  ? 
Why  am  I  thought  to  be  able  to  do  what  I  cannot  ? 
I  have  no  power  to  accomplish  such  great  things. 
Yet  I  give  my  judgment  as  one  that  hath  obtained 
mercy  of  God."  ^  Then  he  charged  the  woman  that 
she  should  bestow  something  upon  the  poor,  according 
to  her  power.  Without  delay  she  quickly  took  off  the 
clothing  which  she  wore,  and  was  hastening  to  divide 
it  among  the  needy.  When  the  man  of  God  heard 
this,  he  marvelled  at  her  ardor,  and  again  charged  her 
that  she  should  clothe  herself  with  her  garments. 
"  When  thy  son,"  he  said,  "  has  been  healed  by  the 
Lord  and  goes  with  thee,  then  shalt  thou  fulfill  thy 
vows." 

So  he  set  a  fast  of  a  few  days,  as  was  his  wont,  and 
poured  forth  prayers  to  God;  and  straightway  healed 
the  sick  man,  and  sent  him  home  whole,  walking 
without  aid. 

Afterwards,  when  the  man  was  present  at  the 
crowded  weekly  market,  he  exhibited  the  miracle,  and 
astounded  all  who  saw  him.  For  some  said,  "  Look, 
it  is  he,  whose  whole  body  was  dissolved  in  corrup- 
tion ";  while  as  others  absolutely  denied  that  it  was 
he,  a  friendly  contention  arose. 

1  I  Corinthians,  vii,  25. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  45 

Now  from  that  time  when  health  was  restored  to 
the  man  who  had  been  thought  incurable,  the  whole 
nation  of  the  Rugii  resorted  to  the  servant  of  God,  and 
began  to  render  grateful  obedience,  and  to  ask  help 
for  their  diseases.  Likewise  many  of  other  races, 
to  which  the  fame  of  so  great  a  miracle  had  come, 
desired  to  see  the  soldier  of  Christ.^  With  the  same 
reverence,  even  before  this  event,  some  barbarians, 
on  their  way  to  Italy,  turned  aside  with  a  view  to 
gaining  his  benediction. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Among  such  visitants  was  Odoacer,  later  king  of  Italy, 
then  a  tall  youth,  meanly  clad.  While  he  stood, 
stooping  that  his  head  might  not  touch  the  roof  of  the 
lowly  cell,  he  learned  from  the  man  of  God  that  he 
was  to  win  renown.     For  as  the  young  man  bade  him 

1  Adolf  Hamack  discusses  the  early  conceptions  of  the  Christian 
religion  as  a  warfare,  and  of  the  Church  as  a  military  organization,  in 
the  first  part  of  his  essay  Militia  Christi  (Tubingen,  1905).  An  illus- 
tration of  the  length  to  which  these  conceptions  might  be  carried  is 
afforded  by  the  biography  of  a  disciple  of  Severinus,  Ennodius's  De 
Vita  Beati  Antoni.  Antonius,  '  warrior  of  Christ,'  decides  to  forsake 
his  Alpine  hermitage  and  to  join  the  '  regiment  of  the  isle  Lerina ' 
(see  note  to  Chapter  XLIV,  below)  of '  the  army  of  the  saints.'  "  That 
veteran  battle-line  is  ever  watchful,  and  repulses  the  enemy,  after 
transfixing  him  with  many  blows.  They  number  their  triumphs  by 
the  wars  which  the  devil  wages  against  them.  They  are  not  afraid, 
when  the  shrill  battle-trumpet  announces  Satan's  onset,  and  urges  to 
the  fight.  Daily  combat  ever  makes  soldiers  skilled  and  brave,  while 
a  long  peace  relaxes  them." 


46  EUGIPPIUS 

\  farewell,  "  Go  forth!  "  said  Severinus,  "  Go  forth  to 
\  Italy!  Now  clad  in  wretched  hides,  thou  shalt  soon 
)      distribute  rich  gifts  to  many." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

King  Feletheus,  sometimes  called  Feva,  son  of  Flac- 
citheus,  mentioned  above,  imitated  his  father's  dili- 
gence, and  before  the  commencement  of  his  reign  began 
to  make  frequent  visits  to  the  saint.  His  wife,  Giso  by 
name,  a  dangerous  and  wicked  woman,^  always  drew 
him  back  from  the  healing  works  of  mercy.  Among 
the  other  pollutions  of  her  iniquity,  she  even  attemp- 
ted to  rebaptize  certain  Cathohcs.^  But  when  her 
husband,  out  of  his  reverence  for  Saint  Severinus,  did 
not  consent,  she  incontinently  abandoned  her  sacri- 
legious purpose.  Yet  she  oppressed  the  Romans 
with  a  heavy  hand,  and  even  ordered  some  to  be 
removed  beyond  the  Danube.  For  one  day  she  came 
to  a  village  near  Favianis,  and  commanded  that  certain 
ones  should  be  brought  to  her  across  the  Danube  to 
be  condemned  to  the  most  degrading  offices  of  slavery. 
The  man  of  God  sent  to  her  and  asked  that  she  let 
them  go.  But  she,  her  woman's  anger  kindled  to  a 
white  heat,  replied  with  a  message  of  the  greatest 

1  Max  Biidinger  offers  some  excellent  remarks  on  Giso's  strongly 
marked  character.     Oesterreichische  Geschichte  (Leipsic,  1858),  i,  p.  49. 

2  "  Ausa  etiam  Catholico  ritu  ablutos,  sacrilege  Arianorum  fonte 
denuo  lustrare."  Johann  Adizreitter,  Annalium  Boicae  Gentis  Partes 
III  (ed.  nova,  Francofurti  ad  Moenum,  1710),  col.  120. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  47 

rudeness.  "  Pray  for  thyself,"  she  said,  "  servant  of 
God,  lurking  in  thy  cell!  Leave  me  to  issue  concern- 
ing my  servants  such  orders  as  I  please." 

When  the  man  of  God  received  this  answer,  he  said, 
"  I  put  my  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  She  shall 
be  compelled  by  necessity  to  do  that  which  her  per- 
verse incUnation  has  despised." 

Even  so  the  swift  stroke  followed  which  cast  down 
her  haughty  spirit.  For  there  were  certain  gold- 
smiths, barbarians,  shut  up  and  straitly  guarded  that 
they  might  fashion  ornaments  for  the  king  and  queen. 
On  the  same  day  on  which  the  queen  had  spurned  the 
servant  of  God,  the  Httle  son  of  King  Feletheus,  Fred- 
ericus  by  name,  moved  by  childish  curiosity,  went  in 
among  them.  Then  the  goldsmiths  put  a  sword  at 
the  child's  breast,  saying  that  if  any  one  should 
attempt  to  approach  them  without  the  safeguard  of 
an  oath,  they  would  first  run  through  the  Httle  prince, 
and  afterwards  slay  themselves;  since,  worn  out  by 
toil  and  confinement,  they  were  utterly  desperate. 
When  this  came  to  the  ears  of  the  cruel  and  ungodly 
queen,  she  rent  her  garments  for  grief,  and  cried 
aloud,  "  O  Severinus,  servant  of  the  Lord,  thus  are 
the  insults  I  have  offered  avenged  by  thy  God! 
With  profuse  prayers  thou  hast  called  down  vengeance 
upon  my  scorn,  that  thou  might  be  avenged  in  my 
offspring!  "  So,  running  to  and  fro,  with  manifold 
contrition  and  pitiable  lamentation,  she  acknowl- 
edged that  she  was  smitten  by  this  blow  in  recompense 
for  the  crime  of   scorn  which   she   had   committed 


48  EUGIPPIUS 

against  the  servant  of  God.  And  she  instantly  dis- 
patched horsemen  to  seek  his  pardon;  and  sent  back 
the  Romans  whom  that  very  day  she  had  removed, 
and  interceding  for  whom  Severinus  had  been  visited 
with  her  scorn.  The  goldsmiths  received  the  surety 
of  an  oath,  released  the  child,  and  were  at  the  same 
time  themselves  released. 

When  he  heard  these  things,  the  most  reverent  ser- 
vant of  Christ  returned  unbounded  thanks  to  the 
Creator:  who  doth  sometimes  postpone  answering 
prayer,  in  order  that  with  the  increase  of  faith,  hope, 
and  love  he  may  grant  greater  blessings  than  are 
asked.  For  the  omnipotence  of  the  Saviour  brought 
it  to  pass  that  when  the  cruel  woman  subjected  the 
free  to  slavery,  she  was  compelled  to  restore  the  slaves 
to  Hberty. 

When  these  wonders  had  been  accomplished,  the 
queen  forthwith  hastened  with  her  husband  to  the 
servant  of  God,  and  showed  him  her  son,  who,  she 
acknowledged,  had  been  rescued  by  his  prayers  from 
the  brink  of  death.  And  she  promised  that  she  would 
never  again  resist  his  commands. 

CHAPTER  DC 

Not  only  was  the  servant  of  God  endowed  with  the 
gift  of  prophecy,  but  also  his  diligence  in  redeeming 
captives  was  great.  For  he  appUed  himself  with 
eagerness  to  the  task  of  restoring  to  their  native 
liberty  those  oppressed  by  the  sway  of  the  barbarians. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  49 

Meanwhile  he  instructed  a  certain  man,  whom  with 
wife  and  children  he  had  redeemed,  to  cross  the 
Danube,  and  seek  out  an  unknown  man  at  the  weekly- 
market  of  the  barbarians.  Divine  revelation  had 
shown  him  the  man  so  clearly  that  he  told  even  his 
stature  and  the  color  of  his  hair,  his  features,  and  the 
fashion  of  his  clothing,  and  showed  in  what  part  of  the 
market  the  messenger  was  to  find  hun.  He  added 
that  whatever  the  person,  when  found,  should  say  to 
the  messenger,  the  latter,  returning  in  all  haste,  should 
report  to  him. 

So  the  messenger  departed,  and  to  his  astonishment 
found  everything  even  as  the  man  of  God  had  fore- 
told. He  was  amazed  to  find  the  man  Severinus  had 
described;  who  then  questioned  him,  saying,  "  Think- 
est  thou  that  I  can  find  someone  to  conduct  me  to  the 
man  of  God,  whose  fame  is  everywhere  spread  abroad  ? 
I  will  pay  what  price  he  wishes.  For  long  have  I 
importuned  the  holy  martyrs,  whose  relics  I  bear, 
that  sometime  my  unworthiness  may  be  freed  from 
this  service,  which  hitherto  I  have  maintained  not 
out  of  rash  presumption  but  by  pious  necessity." 
Then  the  messenger  of  the  man  of  God  made  himself 
known  to  him.  Severinus  received  with  due  honor  the 
rehcs  of  Saint  Gervasius  and  Saint  Protasius  the 
martyrs,^  placed  them  in  the  church  which  he  had 
built  within  the  monastery,  and  committed  them  to 

1  There  is  an  account  of  Gervasius  and  Protasius,  the  martyrs  of 
Milan,  in  Tillemont's  Ecclesiastical  Memoirs  (English  translation  by 
Thomas  Deacon,  London,  1 731-35.  ">  PP-  61-67). 


50  EUGIPPIUS 

the  care  of  the  priests.  In  that  place  he  assembled 
the  relics  of  vast  numbers  of  martyrs;  but  he  always 
acquired  them  on  the  strength  of  a  previous  revelation, 
for  he  knew  that  the  adversary  often  creeps  in  ^  under 
the  guise  of  sanctity.^ 

He  was  asked  to  accept  the  honorable  office  of 
bishop.  But  he  closed  the  matter  with  a  determined 
refusal.  It  was  enough  for  him,  he  said,  that,  with- 
drawn from  his  beloved  solitude,  he  had  come  by 
divine  direction  to  that  province  to  live  among  the 
pressing,  crowding  throngs.  Nevertheless  he  wished 
to  give  a  pattern  to  the  monks,  and  urged  them  to 
follow  earnestly  in  the  steps  of  the  sainted  fathers, 
and  thence  to  gain  instruction  in  holy  conduct. 
They  must  strive,  he  admonished  them,  that  he  who 
hath  forsaken  parents  and  the  world  look  not  back  and 
desire  the  allurements  of  worldly  display  which  he  had 
sought  to  escape.     On  this  point  he  referred  to  the 

1  Adopting  Velserus's  reading  suhrepere. 

2  Severinus  was  not  tiie  first  to  adopt  this  laudable  attitude  of 
caution  in  dealing  with  supposed  relics.  Sulpicius  Severus,  De  Beati 
Martini  Vita,  1 1,  tells  that  Saint  Martin,  finding  no  clear  evidence  as  to 
the  contents  of  a  tomb  supposed  to  be  hallowed  by  the  remains  of 
martyrs,  prayed  for  a  divine  revelation.  "  Then  he  turned  to  the  left, 
and  saw  close  at  hand  a  foul  and  savage  ghost.  He  commanded  the 
spectre  to  tell  his  name  and  desert.  The  spectre  made  known  his 
name,  he  confessed  his  crime;  he  had  been  a  robber,  put  to  death  for 
his  wicked  deeds,  honored  by  the  blunder  of  the  mob;  he  had  nothing 
in  common  with  martyrs;  they  were  in  glory,  he  was  in  torment.  The 
bystanders  heard  the  spectre's  voice,  but  did  not  see  his  form.  Then 
Martin  related  what  he  had  seen,  and  ordered  that  the  altar  which 
was  there  should  be  removed  from  the  place.  So  he  set  free  the  people 
from  the  error  of  that  superstition." 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  51 

terrible  example  of  Lot's  wife.^  He  admonished  like- 
wise that  the  incentives  to  lusts  must  be  mortified  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord;  and  declared  that  the  fires  of 
sensual  delights  cannot  be  conquered,  except  through 
the  grace  of  God  they  be  quenched  in  the  fountain  of 
tears. 

CHAPTER  X 

There  was  a  janitor  ^  at  the  monastery  church,  Mau- 
rus  by  name,  whom  Saint  Severinus  had  redeemed 
from  the  hands  of  the  barbarians.  One  day  the  man 
of  God  warned  him,  saying,  "  Take  heed  to-day  not 
to  go  away  anywhere:  otherwise  thou  shalt  be  in 
imminent  peril."  But  the  janitor,  contrary  to  the 
warning  of  the  great  father,  and  persuaded  by  a  lay- 

1  Genesis,  xix,  26;  Luke,  xvii,  32. 

^  That  this  is  here  the  meaning  of  aedituus  is  shown  by  the  Table 
of  Chapters,  where  it  is  represented  by  ostiarius.  The  office  of  aedi- 
tuus in  the  pagan  temple,  however,  corresponds  rather  to  that  of 
custos  in  the  Christian  church  (see  Chapter  I,  above),  being  a  position 
of  some  dignity.  Ausonius,  Commemoratio  Professorum  Burdigalen- 
sium,  X,  22-30,  speaks  of  Phoebicius,  a  professor  who  had  been  Beleni 
aedituus.  DuCange  gives  the  definition  "  Aedituus,  Ostiarius, 
gradus  ecclesiasticus;  cui  aedis  sacrae  custodia  incumbit,  custos": 
an  impossible  one,  since  ostiarius  and  custos  are  quite  different  officials. 
The  word  never  really  became  naturalized  in  Christian  hterature. 
Paulinus  of  Nola  uses  it,  it  is  true  (Epistolae,  i,  10;  in  Migne's  Patro- 
logia  Latina,  vol.  Ixi,  col.  158) ;  but  he  was  a  friend  and  correspondent 
of  Ausonius. 

Theo  Sommerlad,  Die  Lebensheschreihung  Severins  als  kuUurge- 
schichtliche  Quelle  (Leipsic,  1903),  p.  S3,  fails  to  notice  that  Eugippius 
uses  aedituus  and  ostiarius  interchangeably  both  at  this  place  and 
in  Chapter  XVI,  below,  and  accordingly  wrongly  considers  aedituus 
equivalent  to  the  ecclesiae  custos  of  Chapter  I. 


52  EUGIPPIUS 

man,  went  out  at  midday  to  gather  fruit  ^  at  the  second 
milestone  from  Favianis.  Presently  he  and  the  lay- 
man were  made  captives  by  barbarians  and  carried 
across  the  Danube.  In  that  hour  the  man  of  God, 
reading  in  his  cell,  suddenly  closed  the  book,  and  said, 
"  Seek  Maurus  speedily!  "  When  the  janitor  was 
nowhere  found,  Severinus  crossed  the  streams  of  the 
Danube  in  all  haste,  and  hurried  after  the  robbers, 
whom  the  people  called  Scamarae.^  Stricken  with 
awe  by  his  reverend  presence,  they  humbly  restored 
the  captives  whom  they  had  taken. 

CHAPTER  XI 

While  the  upper  towns  of  Riverside  Noricum  yet 
stood,  and  hardly  a  castle  ^  escaped  the  attacks  of  the 
barbarians,  the  fame  and  reputation  of  Saint  Severinus 
shone  so  brightly  that  the  castles  vied  with  each  other 

1  The  country  along  the  Danube  was  probably  then,  as  now,  rich  in 
orchards.  Expositio  totiiis  Mundi  et  Gentium,  57;  A.  A.  Muchar, 
Das  romische  Norikum  (Gratz,  1825-26),  ii,  p.  186. 

2  These  organized  bands  of  robbers  appear  again  early  in  the  sixth 
century,  beyond  the  Danube  (Jordanes,  De  Rebus  Geticis,  58;  Amedee 
Thierry,  Histoire  d'Attila  el  de  ses  Sticcesseurs,  Paris,  1856,  i,  pp. 
288  f.);  and,  about  570,  in  Pannonia,  under  the  name  of  Sxajudpeis 
(Menander  Protector,  Boimae,  1829,  p.  313). 

3  Castellum.  Knoell  considers  that  the  word  is  equivalent  to 
'town'  (oppidum).  But  in  Chapter  XVII  Eugippius  contrasts  the 
terms,  saying  '  towns  or  castles  '  (oppida  vel  caslcUa). 

Not  forgetting  that  in  the  Vulgate  castellum  is  the  regular  render- 
ing for  the  Greek  Koijir),  '  village ',  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
proper  meaning  in  the  Life  is  '  fortified  town ',  or  perhaps  one  might 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  53 

in  inviting  his  company  and  protection ;  believing  that 
no  misfortune  would  happen  to  them  in  his  presence. 
This  came  to  pass  not  without  the  aid  of  divine  grace, 
that  all  might  stand  in  awe  of  his  commands,  as  of 
heavenly  oracles,  and  be  armed  for  good  works  through 
his  example. 

Moreover  the  holy  man,  summoned  by  the  prayers 
of  the  vicinage,  came  to  a  castle  named  Cucullis,^ 
and  there  a  mighty  miracle  was  wrought,  which  I 
cannot  pass  by  in  silence.  We  heard  the  amazing 
story  from  Marcianus,  a  citizen  of  the  same  town, 
later  our  priest.  A  part  of  the  populace  of  CuculHs 
continued  to  practise  abominable  sacrifices  at  a  cer- 
tain spot.^      When  he  learned  of  this  sacrilege,  the 

say  '  fort '  in  the  frontier  sense  of  a  fortified  settlement.  See  Du 
Cange,  Glossarium  Mediae  et  Infimae  Latinitatis,  s.  v.;  and  compare 
Salvian,  De  Gubernatione  Dei,  v,  44. 

^  Now  Kuchel. 

2  Amedee  Thierry  interprets  these  as  "  sacrifices  humains,  pour 
apaiser  la  destinee."  Recits  de  VHistoire  Romaine  an  V"  Siccle  (Paris, 
i860),  p.  148.  It  is  doubtfid  if  we  are  justified  in  pushing  specification 
so  far.  Any  heathen  rites  would  have  appeared  '  abominable  '  both 
to  Severinus  and  to  Eugippius.  A  Christian  writer  who  wishes  to 
accuse  pagans  of  human  sacrifices  is  likely  to  make  the  charge  in  so 
many  words.  Ennodius  does  so  (De  Vita  Beati  Antoni,  13)  in  speak- 
ing of  the  heathen  barbarian  tribes  —  Franks,  Heruli,  Saxons  —  who 
were  ravaging  the  Pannonias  at  this  time  or  a  little  later. 

Mention  was  made  above  (Chapter  V,  note)  of  this  passage  in  the 
Life  of  Antonius.  Though  Ennodius  speaks  of  '  the  Pannonias,'  the 
cormection  makes  it  clear  that  his  account  is  intended  to  apply  also 
to  Noricum,  particularly  the  territory  about  Lauriacum.  Antonius 
was  nephew  of  Constantius,  bishop  of  Lauriacum,  who  is  named  below 
(Chapter  XXX),  and  after  the  death  of  Severinus  remained  at  Lau- 
riacum under  the  protection  of  his  uncle  until  the  latter's  decease. 


54  EUGIPPIUS 

man  of  God  addressed  the  people  in  many  discourses. 
He  persuaded  the  priests  of  the  place  to  enjoin  a  three 
days'  fast;  and  he  instructed  that  waxen  tapers 
should  be  brought  from  each  house,  and  that  every- 
one should  fasten  his  taper  with  his  own  hand  to  the 
wall  of  the  church.  Then,  when  the  customary 
psalm-singing  was  completed,  and  the  hour  of  the 
sacrifice  arrived,  the  man  of  God  exhorted  the  priests 
and  deacons  that  with  all  alacrity  of  heart  they  should 
join  him  in  prayer  to  their  common  Lord;  that  the 
Lord  might  show  the  hght  of  his  knowledge  to  dis- 
tinguish those  guilty  of  sacrilege.  So  while  he  was 
praying  with  them  at  great  length,  weeping  much, 
and  on  his  knees,  the  greater  part  of  the  tapers,  those 
namely  which  the  faithful  had  brought,  were  sud- 
denly kindled  by  divine  agency.  The  rest  remained 
unhghted,  being  the  tapers  of  those  who  had  been 
polluted  by  the  aforesaid  sacrilege,  but,  wishing  to 
remain  hidden,  had  denied  it.  Thus  those  who  had 
placed  them  were  revealed  by  the  divine  test;  and 
straightway  they  cried  out,  and  by  their  behavior 
sufficiently  betrayed  the  secrets  of  their  hearts.  Con- 
victed by  the  witness  of  their  tapers,  and  by  open 
confession,  they  bore  witness  to  their  own  sacrilegious 
acts. 

O  merciful  power  of  the  Creator,  enkindling  tapers 
and  souls!  The  fire  was  lighted  in  the  tapers,  and 
shone  with  reflected  Hght  in  the  emotions!  The 
visible  light  melted  into  flames  the  substance  of  the 
wax,  but  the  invisible  light  dissolved  the  hearts  of  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  55 

penitents  into  tears !  Who  would  believe,  that  after- 
ward those  whom  the  error  of  sacrilege  had  ensnared 
were  more  distinguished  for  good  works  than  those 
whose  tapers  had  been  divinely  Hghted  ? 

CHAPTER  Xn 

At  another  time,  in  the  territory  of  the  same  castle, 
swarms  of  locusts  had  settled,  consuming  the  crops, 
and  destroying  everything  with  their  noxious  bite.^ 
Therefore,  being  smitten  by  this  pest,  the  priests  and 
the  other  inhabitants  promptly  betook  themselves 
with  urgent  prayers  to  Saint  Severinus,  saying:  "  That 
this  great  and  horrible  plague  may  be  removed,  we  ask 
the  tried  suffrage  of  thy  prayers,  which  by  the  recent 
great  miracle  of  the  tapers  lighted  from  heaven  we 
have  seen  to  avail  much  before  the  Lord."  He 
answered  them  with  great  piety.  "  Have  ye  not  read," 
he  said,  "  what  the  divine  authority  commanded  a 
sinful  people  through  the  prophet:  '  Turn  ye  to  me 
with  all  your  heart,  and  with  fasting,  and  with  weep- 
ing,' 2  and  a  little  after,  '  sanctify  a  fast,'  he  saith, 

'  According  to  Marcellinus  Comes,  Chronicon,  "  numberless  battal- 
ions of  locusts  wasted  the  harvest  of  Phrygia  "  in  456.  Accounts  of 
the  devastations  of  these  insects  in  873  (throughout  Europe)  and  in 
1 195  and  1242  (in  the  Austrian  lands)  may  be  found  in  Curschmann's 
Hungersnole  im  MittelaUer,  pp.  loo  f.,  157,  175.  In  1242,  if  we  may 
believe  the  chronicler,  "  Locusts  of  huge  size  invaded  Austria  in  such 
numbers,  that  they  consumed  most  of  the  vineyards  and  orchards, 
and  moreover  gnawed  to  pieces  horses  and  cattle  feeding  in  the 
fields." 

^  Joel,  ii,  12. 


56  EUGIPPIUS 

'  call  a  solemn  assembly,  gather  the  congregation/  ^ 
and  the  rest  which  follows  ?  Therefore  fulfill  by  meet 
works  what  ye  teach,  that  ye  may  readily  escape  the 
evil  of  the  present  time.  Let  no  one  go  out  to  his  field, 
as  if  concerned  to  oppose  the  locusts  by  human  effort; 
lest  the  divine  wrath  be  yet  more  provoked."  With- 
out delay  all  gathered  together  in  the  church,  and  each 
in  order  sang  psalms  as  was  their  custom.  Every  age 
and  sex,  even  such  as  could  not  form  the  words, 
offered  prayer  to  God  in  tears,  alms  were  continually 
given,  whatever  good  works  the  present  necessity 
demanded  were  fulfilled,  as  the  servant  of  God  had 
instructed. 

While  all  were  occupied  with  exertions  of  this  sort, 
a  certain  very  poor  man  forsook  the  work  of  God  that 
was  begun,  to  look  after  his  own  field  of  standing  corn, 
a  Uttle  plot  which  stood  among  the  sowings  of  the 
others.  And  having  gone  out,  and  all  day  anxiously 
and  diligently  driven  away,  so  far  as  he  could,  the 
threatening  cloud  of  locusts,  he  then  went  to  the 
church  to  partake  of  the  holy  communion.  But  his 
httle  patch  of  corn,  surrounded  by  his  neighbors' 
many  crops,  was  devoured  by  the  dense  swarm  of 
locusts. 

The  locusts  were  that  night  by  divine  command 
removed  from  those  territories:  a  proof  of  the  great 
power  of  faithful  prayer.  So  when  at  dawn  the  viola- 
tor and  scorner  of  the  holy  work  again  went  forth 

»  Joel,  ii,  IS,  i6. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  57 

anxiously  to  his  field,  he  found  it  swept  perfectly  bare 
by  the  baleful  work  of  the  locusts,  while  all  the  sowings 
round  about  were  untouched.  Utterly  amazed,  he 
returned  with  doleful  outcries  to  the  castle.  When  he 
had  published  what  had  happened,  all  went  out  to  see 
the  miracle;  where  the  ravages  of  the  locusts  had 
marked  out  as  if  by  a  ruled  line  the  corn  plot  of  this 
contumacious  fellow.  Then  he  cast  himself  at  their 
feet  and  with  lamentations  begged  for  the  pardon  of  his 
sin  by  the  aid  of  their  intercession.  Wherefore  the 
man  of  God  took  occasion  to  give  a  warning,  and 
taught  all  that  they  should  learn  to  obey  the  Lord 
omnipotent,  whose  commands  even  the  locusts 
observe. 

But  the  poor  man,  weeping,  declared  that,  for  the 
rest,  he  could  obey  the  commands,  if  but  a  hope  of 
wherewithal  he  might  Hve  had  been  left  him.  Then 
the  man  of  God  addressed  the  others.  "  It  is  just," 
he  said,  "  that  he  who  through  his  own  punishment 
hath  given  you  an  example  of  humility  and  obedience 
should  of  your  liberality  receive  sustenance  for  the 
present  year."  So  the  poor  man,  both  rebuked  and 
enriched  by  a  collection  from  the  faithful,  learned 
what  loss  unbelief  inflicts,  and  what  benefit  God's 
bounty  bestows  upon  his  worshippers. 


58  EUGIPPIUS 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Near  a  town  called  Juvao/  they  went  into  the  church 

lone  summer  day  to  celebrate  the  evening  service,  but 

/found  no  fire  for  Hghting  the  lamps.     Unable  to  eHcit 

/  a  blaze  in  the  usual  way,  by  striking  stones  together, 

/  they  were  so  long  delayed  in  striking  iron  and  stone  ^ 

/    that  the  time  of  the  evening  service  was  passing.    But 

i    the  man  of  God  kneeled  on  the  ground  and  prayed 

/     earnestly;   and  soon,  in  full  view  of  three  clerics  who 

/      were  present  at   the   time,   the   taper  which    Saint 

Severinus  held  in  his  hand  was  lighted.^     By  its  light 

j         the  sacrifice  of  eventide  was  completed  in  the  custo- 

/         mary  manner,  and  they  returned  thanks  to  God  in  all 

/  things.     Although  he  wished  those  who  were  present 

i  at  this  miracle  to  keep  the  fact  secret,  as  in  the  case  of 

4 

f  '  Juvao  or  Juvavum,  now  Salzburg. 

2  "  Rarissimus  praeter  exspectationem  hie  usus  erat,  si  scriptorum 
auctoritas  in  hac  re  omnino  quidquam  valet."  M.  H.  Morgan,  "  De 
Ignis  eliciendi  Modis  apud  Antiques,"  in  Harvard  Studies  in  Classical 
Philology,  i  (1890),  p.  38. 

'  A  similar  miracle  is  related  of  Alveus,  or  Alneus,  a  Gallic  saint  of 
the  sixth  century.  "  One  night  he  arose  for  the  early  morning  vigils, 
and  entered  the  church  with  the  rest  of  the  brethren.  They  found 
that  the  hghts  which  usually  burned  there  were  out.  Saint  Alveus 
kneeled  in  prayer.  The  disciples  searched  for  a  light;  but  they  could 
find  no  fire.  The  hour  was  already  late,  and  the  disciples  reminded  the 
saint  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour.  Presently  he  rose  from  prayer,  and 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross  above  the  waxen  taper.  The  taper  was 
kindled  instantly  through  the  excellence  of  God  and  the  merits  of  the 
saint,  and  gave  a  splendid  light  for  all  who  were  in  the  building." 
Acta  Sanctorum,  September,  iii  (1750),  p.  808. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  59 

many  mighty  works  which  were  performed  through 
him  by  God's  doing,  yet  the  splendor  of  so  great  virtue 
could  not  be  hid,  but  surpassingly  kindled  others  to  a 
great  faith. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

It  happened  that  a  certain  woman  of  Juvao  was  vexed 
by  long  continued  sickness  and  lay  half -dead,  and  the      / 
burial  was  already  prepared.     Her  relatives,  in  mourn-     / 
ful  silence,  repressed  funereal  lamentations  at  the  voice     [' 
of  faith,  and  laid  the  sick  woman's  now  almost  Hfeless     i 
body  at  the  door  of  the  saint's   cell.      When   the 
man  of  God  saw  the  entrance  closed  by  the  bed  set 
against  it,  he  said  to  them,  "  Why  have  ye  done  this  ?  " 
They  answered,  "  That  by  thy  prayer  the  dead  may  be 
restored  to  life."     Then  he  said,  bursting  into  tears,     \ 
"  Why  do  ye  demand  the  great  from  the  little  ?      I      \ 
know   myself    utterly    unworthy.       O    that    I   may       ■ 
deserve  to  find  pardon  for  my  sins!  "      They  said, 
"  We  beheve  that  if  thou  pray,  she  will  live  again." 
Then  Saint  Severinus  straightway  wept,  and  cast  him- 
self down  in  prayer;  and  when  the  woman  forthwith 
arose,  he  addressed  them:   "  Do  not  attribute  to  my 
works  any  of  these  things ;  for  the  vehemence  of  your 
faith  hath  merited  this  grace,  and  this  cometh  to  pass 
in  many  places  and  nations,  that  it  may  be  known       • 
that  there  is  one  God,  who  doeth  wonders  in  heaven      / 
and  on  earth,  calHng  forth  the  lost  unto  salvation,  and      ■ 
brmging  back  the  dead  to  Hfe."      The  woman,  her 


6o  EUGIPPIUS 

health  restored,  on  the  third  day  began  to  labor  with 
her  own  hands  in  the  fields,  after  the  custom  of  the 


\        province. 

\ 


CHAPTER  XV 


QuiNTANis  ^  was  a  municipahty  of  Raetia  Secunda,^ 
situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Danube.  Near  by  on  the 
other  side  ran  a  small  river  named  Businca.  Often  the 
Businca,  when  swollen  in  time  of  flood  by  the  overflow 
of  the  Danube,  covered  some  spaces  of  the  castle, 
because  the  latter  stood  on  the  plain.  Moreover  the 
inhabitants  of  this  place  had  built  outside  the  walls  a 
wooden  church  which  overhung  the  water,  and  was 
supported  by  posts  driven  into  the  riverbed  and  by 
forked  props.  In  place  of  a  flooring  it  had  a  slippery 
platform  of  boards,  which  were  covered  by  the  over- 
flowing water  whenever  it  rose   above   the   banks. 

1  In  the  Notitia  Dignilatum  Quintanis  appears  as  a  garrison  town, 
commanded  by  the  praefedus  alae  primae  Flavii  Raetorum.  It  is  now 
represented  by  Osterhofen. 

^  Eugippius,  whose  earlier  years  were  spent  in  the  Danubian  lands, 
tells  of  conditions  there  as  he  remembers  them  many  years  before  the 
close  of  the  fifth  century.  Raetia  Secunda  then  included,  nominally 
at  least,  the  plain  country  between  the  Alps,  the  Inn,  and  the  Dan- 
ube; Raetia  Prima,  the  whole  central  Alpine  region.  It  seems  clear 
that  at  the  time  of  his  writing  (511)  Raetia  Secunda  lay  entirely  in 
the  Alps,  and  comprised  the  eastern  part  of  the  old  Raetia  Prima; 
while  from  the  level  country  to  the  north,  subject  though  it  might  be 
to  the  more  or  less  shadowy  overlordship  of  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth 
as  successor  of  Old  Rome,  all  vestiges  of  the  provincial  name  and 
administration  had  vanished.  E.  A.  Quitzmann,  Die  alteste  Geschichte 
der  Baiern  (Brunswick,  1873),  p.  123. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  6i 

Now  through  the  faith  of  the  people  of  Quintanis 
Saint  Severinus  had  been  invited  thither.  Coming 
at  a  time  of  drought,  he  asked  why  the  boards  were 
seen  bare  and  uncovered.  The  neighbors  answered 
that  the  frequent  inundations  of  the  river  always 
washed  away  anything  that  was  spread  on  the  boards. 
But  he  said,  "  In  Christ's  name,  let  a  pavement  be 
now  laid  upon  the  boards;  from  henceforth  ye  shall 
see  the  river  restrained  by  the  command  of  heaven." 
So  when  the  pavement  was  finished,  he  went  down 
into  a  boat,  took  an  axe,  and,  after  offering  prayer, 
struck  the  posts;  and,  having  cut  the  sign  of  the 
venerable  cross,  said  to  the  water  of  the  river,  "  My 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  doth  not  permit  thee  to  overpass 
this  sign  of  the  cross."  From  that  time,  therefore, 
when  the  river  after  its  wont  rose  mountain  high  in 
floods  and  encompassed  the  neighboring  country  as  of 
yore,  it  was  lower  than  the  site  of  the  church,  in  such 
wise  that  it  never  actually  overpassed  the  sign  of  the 
holy  cross  which  the  man  of  God  had  marked. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Moreover  it  happened  that  there  died  a  highly 
venerable  priest  of  Quintanis,  Silvinus  by  name.  The 
bier  was  placed  in  the  church,  and,  according  to  the 
custom,  they  passed  the  night  watching  and  singing 
psalms.  When  the  dawn  was  already  breaking,  the 
man  of  God  asked  all  the  weary  priests  and  deacons 


62  EUGIPPIUS 

to  go  away  for  a  little  while,  that  after  the  toil  of  watch- 
ing they  might  refresh  themselves  somewhat  by  sleep. 
When  they  had  gone  out,  the  man  of  God  asked  the 
doorkeeper,  Maternus  by  name,  whether  all  had 
departed  as  he  had  bidden.  When  Maternus  answered 
that  all  had  gone  out,  "  Not  so,"  he  said,  "  but  there  is 
a  woman  hiding  here."  Then  the  janitor  of  the 
church  explored  the  walls  a  second  time,  and  assured 
him  that  no  one  remained  within  them.  But  the 
soldier  of  Christ,  the  Lord  revealing  it  to  him,  said, 
"  Some  one  is  lurking  here."  So  the  doorkeeper 
searched  more  diligently  for  the  third  time,  and  found 
that  a  certain  consecrated  virgin  had  concealed  herself 
in  a  very  obscure  place.  Therefore  the  doorkeeper 
reproved  her:  "  Why  didst  thou  think  that  thy  pres- 
ence could  be  hid  when  the  servant  of  God  was 
here  ?  "  She  answered,  "  Love  of  piety  persuaded 
me  to  do  it:  for  when  I  saw  all  driven  out,  I  thought 
within  myself  that  the  servant  of  Christ  would  invoke 
the  divine  majesty,  and  raise  up  this  dead  man." 
Then  the  virgin  departed,  and  the  man  of  God,  bowing 
in  prayer  together  with  a  priest,  a  deacon,  and  two 
janitors,  prayed  with  many  tears  that  the  supernal 
power  might  reveal  a  work  of  its  wonted  majesty. 
Then,  as  the  priest  ended  the  prayer,  the  saint  thus 
addressed  the  corpse:  "In  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  holy  priest  Silvinus,  speak  with  thy 
brothers!  "  But  when  the  dead  man  opened  his  eyes, 
the  man  of  God  with  difficulty  persuaded  those  present 
to  restrain  their  joy  and  keep  silent.     And  again  he 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  63 

speaketh  unto  him,  "  Shall  we  ask  the  Lord  that  he 
deign  to  grant  thee  still  in  this  life  to  us,  his  servants  ?" 
But  he  saith,  "  By  the  Lord  I  adjure  thee,  let  me  not  be 
held  here  longer,  and  cheated  of  the  everlasting  rest  in 
the  possession  of  which  I  have  seen  myself."  And 
immediately,  when  he  had  spoken,  the  dead  man  was 

at  rest.^ 

Now  this  event  was  so  concealed  at  the  earnest 
request  of  Saint  Severinus,  that  no  one  knew  of  it 
until  after  his  death.  Yet  I  learned  what  I  have 
reported  from  the  account  of  Marcus  the  subdeacon 
and  Maternus  the  janitor.  For  the  priest  and  the 
deacon,  witnesses  of  this  great  miracle,  are  known  to 
have  died  before  the  saint,  to  whom  they  had  sworn 
to  reveal  to  no  one  that  which  they  had  seen. 


CHAPTER  XVn 

Not  only  did  the  grace  of  Christ  make  Saint  Severinus 
rich  in  such  gifts,  but  also  from  his  innate  goodness  he 
took  so  great  care  of  captives  and  the  needy  that 
ahnost  all  the  poor  through  all  the  towns  and  castles 

1  The  gratitude  of  the  catechumen  recalled  to  life  by  Saint  Martin 
was  greater  in  proportion  as  his  reception  in  the  other  world  had  been 
different.     Sulpicius  Severus,  De  Beati  Martini  Vita,  vii,  4-6. 

An  engraving  which  represents  this  scene  is  mentioned  in  the  Pre- 
face. There  is  another  in  J.  H.  von  Falckenstein's  Anliquitates  et 
Memorabilia  Nordgaviae  Veteris  (Schwabach,  i734-43)>  h  tab.  vii, 
opposite  p.  202.  The  latter  is  of  especial  interest  in  that  it  portrays 
the  two  doorkeepers,  or  janitors,  in  military  costume,  one  of  them 
leaning  upon  a  huge  battle-axe. 


64  EUGIPPIUS 

were  fed  by  his  activity.  To  these  he  ministered  with 
such  cheerful  concern,  that  he  believed  himself  to  be 
filled  or  to  abound  in  all  good  things  only  when  he 
saw  that  the  needy  had  their  bodily  wants  supplied. 

Though  he  himself  was  not  in  the  least  enfeebled  by 
repeated  week-long  fasts,  yet  he  felt  himself  afficted 
by  the  hunger  of  the  unfortunate.  When  they  saw 
his  pious  largess  to  the  poor,  great  numbers,  although 
they  were  straitened  with  hunger  under  the  harsh 
sway  of  the  barbarians,  faithfully  gave  the  poor  the 
tithes  of  their  crops.  Though  this  commandment  is 
familiar  to  all  from  the  law,i  yet  these  observed  it  with 

'  Paul  Viard,  Histoire  de  la  Dime  EccUsiastique  (Dijon,  1909),  gives 
an  excellent  account  of  the  origin  of  tithing  in  the  early  church,  and 
also  (pp.  44  f.,  49)  discusses  this  passage  at  length.  Some  of  his  con- 
clusions may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows.  The  only  references  to 
tithes  in  the  Gospels  (Matthew,  xxiii,  23;  Luke,  xi,  42;  xviii,  12)  are 
in  rebuke  of  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Pharisees.  The  Christians  of  the 
first  four  centuries  did  not  recognize  the  Jewish  tithe.  They  did  in 
some  instances  acknowledge  the  tax  of  the  first  fruits.  Insistence 
upon  the  tithe  begins  to  appear  about  the  end  of  the  fourth  century. 
In  the  East,  its  champion  was  Saint  John  Chrysostom  {In  Malthaeum 
Homilia  Ixiv  {Ixv),  in  Migne's  Patrologia  Graeca,  Iviii,  col.  615).  In 
the  West,  it  was  advocated  in  two  forms.  Jerome  {Explanalio  in 
Malachiam,u\,T,  in  Migne^s  Patrologia  Latino,  xkv,  coll.  1568-1571; 
and  Epistola  ad  Nepotianum  de  Vita  Clericorum  et  Sacerdotum,  in 
Migne,  xxii,  col.  531)  considers  that  the  ancient  law  is  still  in  force,  and 
that  the  proceeds  of  the  tithe  should  be  for  the  support  of  the  clergy. 
Augustine  likewise  {Sermones,  Ixxxv,  4,  in  Migne,  xxxviii,  col.  522) 
holds  to  the  obligation  of  the  tithe,  at  least  upon  the  conscience,  using 
the  text  Matthew,  v,  20,  "  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  ";  but  he  directs  it  to  the 
support  of  the  poor.  The  later  development  of  church  polity,  finally 
crystallized  into  definite  enactments  at  the  second  council  of  M&con 
in  585,  was  a  compromise  between  these  two  views.     Severinus,  on  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  65 

grateful  devotion,  as  though  they  were  hearing  it 
given  by  the  lips  of  an  angel  present  among  them. 
The  cold,  too,  was  felt  by  the  man  of  God  only  in  the 
nakedness  of  the  poor.  Indeed,  he  had  received  from 
God  the  special  gift  of  remaining  vigorous  and  active, 
hardened  by  his  wonderful  abstinence,  in  a  land  of 

bitter  cold. 

We  spoke  of  tithes  for  the  support  of  the  poor.  He 
was  wont  to  send  letters,  urging  the  communities  of 
Noricum^  also  to  give  them.  This  became  their 
custom,  and  once,  when  they  had  sent  to  him  a 
quantity  of  clothing  to  be  distributed,  he  asked  the 
attendants  whether  the  town  of  Tiburnia  ^  was  send- 
ing a  like  contribution.  They  answered  that  men 
from  that  place  also  would  soon  arrive.  But  the  man 
of  God  signified  that  they  should  not  come,  and  fore- 
told that  the  offering  which  they  had  delayed  must  be 
made  to  the  barbarians.  Accordingly,  not  long  after 
the  citizens  of  Tiburnia  were  beleaguered  by  the  Goths, 
and  fought  them  with  varying  fortune;  and  under  the 

other  hand,  follows  Saint  Augustine.  "  Probably,"  saj^s  M.  Viard, 
"  he  did  not  speak  of  the  tithe  in  the  exact  sense  of  the  word;  he 
wished  merely  to  call  forth  the  charitable  gifts  of  the  communities 
that  he  evangeUzed.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  saint  thought,  in 
doing  this,  to  revive  the  ancient  tithe,  modifying  it,  however,  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  of  the  moment  and  his  personal  disinterestedness. 
The  biographer  has  exaggerated  this  thought  of  his  hero  in  order  to 
make  it  appear  an  actuality." 

■  Here,  as  elsewhere  when  he  uses  the  word  without  a  modifier, 
Eugippius  means  Noricum  Mediterraneum,  the  interior  or  southern 
province,  of  which  Tiburnia  was  the  chief  town. 

-  Teumia  in  inscriptions.     Now  Sanct  Peter  im  Holz,  near  Spital. 


66  EUGIPPIUS 

terms  of  peace,  which  they  obtained  with  difficulty, 
they  presented  to  the  enemy,  among  other  things,  the 
largess,  already  collected,  which  they  had  delayed  to 
send  to  the  servant  of  God.^ 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Likewise  the  citizens  of  the  town  of  Lauriacum,^ 
in  spite  of  many  warning  exhortations  from  Saint 
Severinus,  had  delayed  offering  to  the  poor  the  tithes 
of  their  crops.  They  were  pinched  with  hunger,  and 
the  yellow  of  the  ripening  harvest  showed  that  relief 
was  at  hand.  But  when  a  destructive  rust  unex- 
pectedly appeared,  and  was  on  the  point  of  damaging 
the  crops,  they  immediately  came  and  cast  themselves 
down  before  Saint  Severinus,  and  acknowledged  the 
punishment  of  their  stubbornness.     But  the  soldier  of 

1  The  siege  of  Tibumia  may  well  be  assigned  to  the  year  473.  See 
Chapter  V,  note.  It  is  then  probable  that  the  surrender  of  the  collec- 
tion of  clothing  was  an  important,  though  hardly  a  decisive  factor  in 
restoring  peace  between  the  citizens  and  the  ragged  Goths;  who, 
according  to  Jordanes  {De  Rebus  Gelicis,  56),  entered  upon  the  cam- 
paign because  food  and  clothing  were  beginning  to  fail  them.  "  Min- 
uentibus  se  deinde  hinc  inde  vicinarum  gentium  spoliis,  coepit  et 
Gothis  victus  vestitusque  deesse:  et  hominibus,  quibus  dudum  bella 
alimoniam  praestitissent,  pax  coepit  esse  contraria;  omnesque  cum 
clamore  magno  ad  regem  Theodemir  accedentes  Gothi  orant,  quacum- 
que  parte  vellet  ductaret  exercitum." 

2  The  chief  town  of  Riverside  Noricum,  Now  Ens,  or  the  small 
place  Lorch,  near  Ens;  authorities  differ.  At  the  time  of  the  Notitia 
Dignitatum  Lauriacum  was  defended  by  a  strong  garrison  of  soldiers, 
under  the  praefedus  legionis  secundae,  and  by  a  squadron  of  the 
Danube  flotilla. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  67 

Christ  comforted  the  feeble  ones  with  spiritual  words, 
saying,  "  Had  ye  offered  tithes  for  the  poor,  not  only 
would  ye  enjoy  an  everlasting  reward,  but  ye  would 
also  be  able  to  abound  in  present  comforts.  ^  But 
since  ye  rebuke  your  sin  by  your  own  confession,  I 
promise  you,  by  the  goodness  of  the  Lord,  that  this 
mighty  rust  shall  cause  no  damage  whatever;  orily 
let  not  your  faith  waver  any  more."  This  promise 
rendered  the  citizens  from  that  tune  on  more  ready  to 
pay  the  tithes.  Then,  as  was  his  wont,  he  urged  that 
a  fast  be  proclaimed.  When  this  had  ended,  a  gentle 
rain  relieved  from  danger  the  harvest  of  which  they 
had  despaired.^ 

CHAPTER  XIX 

B  ATA  VIS  -  is  a  town  lying  between  two  rivers,  the 
Aenus  and  the  Danube.  There  Saint  Severinus  had 
estabhshed  after  his  wonted  fashion  a  cell  for  a  few 
monks,  because  he  himself  not  infrequently  came 
thither  at  the  request  of  the  citizens;  particularly  on 

1  Caesar  Baronius  supposes  that  this  chapter  and  passages  in 
Sidonius  Apollinaris  {Epistolae,  vi,  12)  and  Gregory  of  Tours  {Historia 
Francoriim,  ii,  24)  relate  to  a  general  famine,  which,  he  believes, 
afflicted  the  northern  provinces  in  475.  "  Quae  GaUias  vexavit  dira 
fames,  aeque  afflixit  Raetios,  Noricos,  et  alios  Boreales  populos  his 
finitimos."  Annates  EcclesiasHci,  a.  475,  sects.  30-35-  There  seems, 
however,  no  sufficient  reason  for  linking  the  dearth  at  Lauriacum  with 
that  in  Gaul,  in  the  winter  of  474-75,  of  which  Sidonius  and  Gregory 
speak.  The  latter  was  caused,  not  by  the  fault  of  the  season,  but  by 
the  depredations  of  the  Visigoths. 

2  Now  Passau. 


68  EUGIPPIUS 

account  of  the  constant  incursions  of  the  Alamanni, 
whose  king,  Gibuldus,  greatly  honored  and  loved  him. 

Now  on  a  certain  occasion  Gibuldus  came  eagerly 
to  see  him.  That  the  king  might  not  encumber  Ba- 
tavis  by  his  visit,  the  saint  went  out  to  meet  him,  and 
addressed  the  king  with  so  great  firmness,  that 
Gibuldus  began  to  tremble  violently  before  him,  and 
declared  to  his  armies,  as  he  withdrew,  that  never,  in 
war  or  in  any  peril,  had  he  been  smitten  with  such 
trembling.  And  when  he  gave  to  the  servant  of  God 
his  choice,  to  give  what  command  he  would,  the  most 
pious  teacher  asked  that  the  king  should  pay  attention 
rather  to  his  own  best  interests,  restrain  his  nation 
from  laying  waste  the  Roman  territory,  and  set  free 
without  ransom  the  captives  his  followers  had  made. 

Then  the  king  appointed  thatSeverinus  should  direct 
some  one  from  his  own  followers  to  bring  this  work 
more  speedily  to  completion.  Forthwith  Deacon 
Amantius  was  dispatched,  and  followed  in  the  king's 
path;  but,  though  he  watched  before  his  gates  many 
days,  he  could  not  secure  an  audience.  As  he  was 
turning  back,  very  sorrowful  because  his  appointed 
task  had  not  been  accomplished,  a  man  appeared  in 
the  form  of  Saint  Severinus,  who  accosted  him  men- 
acingly, and,  as  he  stood  in  utter  terror,  bade  him 
follow.  As  he  followed  in  fear  and  excitement,  he 
came  to  the  king's  door;  and  immediately  the  guide 
that  had  gone  before  him  vanished  from  his  wondering 
eyes.  But  the  king's  messenger  asked  the  deacon 
whence  he  came  and  what  he  wished.     He  told  his 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  69 

errand  briefly,  gave  letters  to  the  king,  and  received 
others  from  him,  and  returned  home.  He  conveyed 
back  about  seventy  captives,  and  moreover  brought 
the  pleasing  promise  of  the  Hng,  that  when  he  had 
dihgently  searched  through  the  province,  he  would 
send  back  all  the  captives  that  were  to  be  found  there. 
Later  Saint  Lucillus  the  priest  was  selected  to  at- 
tend to  this  matter,  and  recovered  from  captivity  a 
great  number  of  unfortunates. 

CHAPTER  XX 

So  long  as  the  Roman  dominion  lasted,  soldiers  were 
maintained  in  many  towns  at  the  public  expense  to 
guard  the  boundary  wall.^  When  this  custom  ceased, 
the  squadrons  of  soldiers  and  the  boundary  wall  were 
blotted  out  together.  The  troop  at  Batavis,  however, 
held  out.2  Some  soldiers  of  this  troop  had  gone  to 
Italy  to  fetch  the  final  pay  to  their  comrades,  and  no 
one  knew  that  the  barbarians  had  slain  them  on  the 
way.  One  day,  as  Saint  Severinus  was  reading  in  his 
cell,  he  suddenly  closed  the  book  and  began  to  sigh 
greatly  and  to  weep.     He  ordered  the  bystanders  to 

1  Saint  Augustine  {De  Civllate  Dei,  xviii,  18)  teUs  of  the  com,  caUed 
Retica  annona,  sent  from  Italy  for  the  supply  of  the  soldiers  in  Rae- 
tia:  "  dicebat  .  .  .  narrasse  quae  passus  est,  caballum  se  scilicet 
factum  annonam  inter  alia  jumenta  bajulasse  militibus,  quae  dicitur 
Retica,  quoniam  ad  Retias  deportatur." 

2  The  cohors  nova  Baiavorum,  according  to  the  Nolitia  Dignitalum. 
The  towTi,  that  is,  was  a  military  station,  and  took  its  name  from  the 
garrison. 


70  EUGIPPIUS 

run  out  with  haste  to  the  river,  which  he  declared  was 
in  that  hour  besprinkled  with  human  blood;  and 
straightway  word  was  brought  that  the  bodies  of  the 
soldiers  mentioned  above  had  been  brought  to  land  by 
the  current  of  the  river. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

One  PauHnus,  a  priest,  had  come  to  Saint  Severinus, 
whose  fame  was  extending.^  He  tarried  some  days 
in  the  company  of  the  saint.  When  he  wished  to 
return  home,  Severinus  said  to  him,  "  Hasten,  vener- 
able priest;  for,  beloved,  the  episcopal  dignity  shall 
speedily  adorn  thee,  even  if,  as  we  believe,  thou  op- 
posest  the  desire  of  the  peoples."  And  presently, 
when  he  returned  to  his  own  country,  the  word  of  the 
prophet  was  fulfilled  unto  him.  For  the  citizens  of 
Tiburnia,  which  is  the  metropoUs  of  Noricum,  com- 
pelled him  to  assume  the  preeminence  of  the  highest 
priesthood. 

1  It  would  indeed  be  an  evidence  of  an  extensive  fame,  were  we  able 
to  accept  Mr.  Hodgkin's  ingenious  conjecture  as  to  the  source  of  the 
penultimate  name  of  the  celebrated  philosopher  and  poet  Anicius 
Manlius  Severinus  Boethius,  who  was  bom  at  Rome  probably  during 
the  eighth  decade  of  the  fifth  century.  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  iii 
(1885),  p.  523  (or  2d  ed.,  1896,  p.  471):  "  Severinus  was  no  doubt 
given  to  him  in  honour  of  one  of  the  hohest  names  of  the  fifth  century, 
the  saintly  hermit  of  Noricum." 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  71 


CHAPTER  XXH 

For  a  church  beyond  the  walls  of  Batavis,  in  a  place 
named  Bojotro/  across  the  Aenus,  where  Severinus 
had  built  a  cell  for  a  few  monks,  relics  of  martyrs 
were  sought.  When  the  priests  were  accordingly 
pushing  themselves  forward  that  they  might  be  sent 
to  fetch  relics, 2  Saint  Severinus  uttered  this  warning: 
"  Though  all  wrought  by  mortals'  toil  passeth  away, 
yet  most  swiftly  must  these  buildings  above  others 
be  abandoned."  And  he  said  that  they  ought  to 
make  no  effort  for  relics  of  the  saints,  because  the 
blessing  of  Saint  John  would  be  brought  to  them  with- 
out their  asking. 

Meantime  the  citizens  of  Batavis  approached  the 
saint,  and  besought  him  to  go  to  Feba,  prince  of  the 
Rugii,  to  ask  permission  for  them  to  trade.  He  said 
to  them,  "  The  time  of  this  town  is  at  hand,  that  it 
remain  deserted  like  the  rest  of  the  upper  castles  and 
uninhabited.  Why,  then,  is  it  necessary  to  provide 
merchandise  for  places  where  in  future  no  merchant 
can  appear  ?  "     They  repUed  that  he  ought  not  to 

'  Now  Iimstadt. 

2  Sanduaria.  Reliquiae  is  also  used  with  the  same  meaning;  as, 
for  example,  three  lines  above.  The  relics  need  not  be  of  any  great 
extent.  Gregory  the  Great  gave  orders  on  at  least  three  occasions 
that  sanduaria  or  reliquiae  of  Severinus  himself  should  be  furnished 
for  the  consecration  of  churches  or  oratories.  Epistolae,  iii,  19;  ix, 
181;  xi,  19.  This  was  a  hundred  years  after  the  saint  had  been 
securely  buried. 


72  EUGIPPIUS 

mock  them,  but  to  aid  them  with  his  wonted  direction. 
A  certain  priest,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  Satan,  added, 
'*  Go,  saint,  I  beg,  go  quickly,  that  for  a  Httle  space  thy 
departure  may  give  us  rest  from  fastings  and  vigils." 
At  this  saying  the  man  of  God  was  oppressed  with 
great  weeping,  because  a  priest,  in  public,  had  burst 
forth  in  ridiculous  gabbhng.  For  open  scurrihty 
is  a  witness  of  hidden  sins.  When  the  saint  was 
asked  by  the  brethren  why  he  was  weeping  thus,  "  I 
see,"  he  said,  "  a  heavy  blow  that  in  my  absence 
shall  straightway  befall  this  place;  and,  with  groaning 
I  must  say  it,  the  shrine  of  Christ  shall  so  overflow 
with  human  blood,  that  even  this  place  must  be  dese- 
crated." For  he  was  speaking  in  the  baptistery. 
Therefore  he  went  down  the  Danube  by  ship  a  hun- 
dred miles  and  more  to  his  old  monastery,  larger  than 
the  others,  near  the  walls  of  Favianis.  As  he  was 
going  down  the  river,  Hunimund,^  accompanied  by  a 

1  Probably  Hunimund,  king  of  the  Suevi,  whose  raid  into  Dal- 
matia  and  hostilities  with  the  Ostrogoths  are  described  by  Jordanes, 
De  Rebus  Gelicis,  53-55.  Eduard  von  Wietersheim,  indeed,  in  his 
Geschichtc  der  Volkerwanderimg  (2d  ed.,  Leipsic,  i88o-8i),  ii,  p.  324, 
expresses  the  belief  that  the  coincidence  in  name  is  purely  accidental. 
But  if  the  Hunimund  of  Eugippius  was  not  Hunimund  the  Suevian 
king,  who  was  he  ?  Eugippius  through  his  whole  work  is  perfectly 
definite  in  his  identification  of  persons.  He  names  in  all  some  fifty 
characters,  aside  from  those  mentioned  in  the  Bible  or  in  the  church 
fathers.  Each  is  carefully  labelled  with  the  appropriate  word  or 
phrase,  except  two,  Stilicho  (Chapter  XXXVI)  and  Hunimund.  It 
is  a  fair  inference  that  Eugippius  left  these  names  unqualified  — 
just  as,  for  example,  one  would  now  in  similar  references  that  of 
Napoleon  or  of  Bliicher  —  because  no  label  seemed  needed,  either  for 
Stilicho,  the  great  general  of  the  Western  Empire,  or  for  Hunimund, 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  73 

few  barbarians,  attacked  the  town  of  Batavis,  as  the 
saint  had  foretold,  and,  while  almost  all  the  inhabi- 
tants were  occupied  in  the  harvest,  put  to  death  forty 
men  of  the  town  who  had  remained  for  a  guard.  The 
priest  who  had  spoken  sacrilegious  words  in  the 
baptistery  against  the  servant  of  Christ  fled  for  refuge 
to  the  same  place,  and  was  slain  by  the  pursuing  bar- 
barians. For  in  vain  did  the  offender  against  God 
and  enemy  of  truth  seek  protection  in  the  place  where 
he  had  so  impudently  transgressed. 


CHAPTER  XXni 

Once  while  Saint  Severinus  was  reading  the  Gospel  in 
the  monastery  at  Favianis,  after  offering  prayer  he 
arose,  ordered  a  skiff  to  be  instantly  prepared  for  him, 
and  said  to  the  astonished  bystanders,  "  Blessed  be 
the  name  of  the  Lord;  we  must  go  to  meet  the  relics 
of  the  sainted  martyrs."  They  crossed  the  Danube 
without  delay,  and  found  a  man  sitting  on  the  farther 
bank  of  the  river,  who  besought  them  with  many 
prayers  to  conduct  him  to  the  servant  of  God,  whose 
fame  was  widespread,  and  to  whom  he  had  long  wished 
to  come.     The  servant  of  Christ  was  pointed  out  to 

king  of  the  Suevi,  a  principal  leader  in  a  war,  not  yet  remote  in  time, 
that  had  devastated  Central  Europe  for  years. 

We  may  infer  from  the  smaUness  of  the  force  under  the  command  of 
Hunimund  that  the  attack  on  Bojotro  was  made  after  the  destructive 
overthrows  of  the  Suevi  by  the  Ostrogoths;  perhaps  in  474  or  475- 
The  sequence  of  Eugippius's  narrative  points  to  the  same  date. 


74  EUGIPPIUS 

him;  and  immediately  and  as  a  suppliant  he  offered 
him  the  relics  of  Saint  John  the  Baptist,  which  he  had 
kept  by  him  for  a  long  time.  The  servant  of  God 
received  the  relics  with  the  veneration  they  deserved; 
and  so  the  blessing  of  Saint  John  was  bestowed  unasked 
upon  the  church,  as  he  had  foretold,  and  Severinus  con- 
secrated the  relics  by  the  hands  of  the  priests. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

There  was  a  town  called  Joviaco,i  twenty  miles  and 
more  distant  from  Batavis.  Thither  the  man  of  God, 
impressed  as  usual  by  a  revelation,  sent  a  singer  of  the 
church,  Moderatus  by  name;  admonishing  that  all 
the  inhabitants  should  quit  that  place  without  delay. 
For  imminent  destruction  threatened  them  if  they  de- 
spised his  commands.^  Some  were  in  doubt  over  so 
great  a  presage,  while  others  did  not  believe  it  at  all. 
Therefore  yet  again  he  sent  one  unto  them,  a  certain 

*  Schlogen. 

2  F.  W.  Rettberg  believes  that  Severinus  may  have  owed  his  fore- 
knowledge of  barbarian  raids  to  secret  information  received  from  his 
friends  among  the  Germans.  Kirchengeschichte  Deulschlands,  i,  pp. 
232  f.  This  view  is  held  also  by  Felix  Dahn.  Gelehrtc  Anzeigen 
(Munich),  21  Sept.  1859,  coll.  270  f.  Reinhold  Pallmann  decUnes  to 
accept  it.  Die  Geschichte  der  V'dkerwanderung  (Gotha,  etc.,  1863-64), 
ii,  p.  400,  n.  I. 

George  Thomas  Stokes  remarks  that  Severinus  "  seems  to  have 
been  gifted  with  some  kind  of  second-sight,  similar  to  that  which 
Adamnan's  Life  of  St.  Columba  claims  for  the  Celtic  saint  of  the  fol- 
lowing century."  Smith  and  Wace's  Dictionary  of  Christian  Biog- 
raphy, iv  (London,  1887),  p.  627. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  75 

man  of  Quintanis,  to  whom  he  said,  weeping,  "  Make 
haste!  Declare  unto  them  that  if  they  stay  there  this 
night,  they  shall  without  delay  be  made  captives!  " 
He  bade   that  Saint  Maximianus   too,   a  priest  of 
spiritual  life,  should  be  urgently  warned;    that  he  at 
least,  leaving  the  scomers  behind,  through  the  com- 
passion of  heaven  might  escape.     The  servant  of  God 
said  that  he  was  in  great  sorrow  over  him,  lest  haply 
he  might  postpone  obedience  to  the  saving  command, 
and  so  be  exposed  to  the  threatening  destruction. 
Accordingly  the  messenger  of  the  man  of  God  went 
and  fulfilled  his  orders;  and  when  the  others  in  their 
unbelief  hesitated,  he  did  not  tarry  a  moment,  though 
the  priest  strove  to  keep  him  and  wished  to  extend  to 
him  the  courtesy  of  his  hospitality.     That  night  the 
HeruU  made  a  sudden,  unexpected  onslaught,  sacked 
the  town,  and  led  most  of  the  people  into  captivity. 
They  hanged  the  priest  Maximianus  on  a  cross.    When 
the  news  came,  the  servant  of  God  grieved  sorely  that 
his  warnings  had  been  disregarded. 

CHAPTER  XXV 

Later  a  man  from  Noricum,  Maximus  by  name,  came 
to  visit  the  servant  of  God,  as  was  his  frequent  custom. 
Pursuant  to  their  established  friendship,  he  tarried 
some  days  in  the  monastery  of  the  saint.  Then 
Severinus  informed  him  by  his  oracles  that  his  coun- 
try was  about  to  experience  a  sudden  and  heavy 
disaster.     Maximus  took  a  letter  addressed  to  Saint 


76  EUGIPPIUS 

Paulinus  the  bishop,  and  in  all  haste  returned  home. 
Accordingly  Paulinus,  prepared  by  the  contents  of  the 
letter,  wrote  to  all  the  castles  of  his  diocese,  and 
strongly  admonished  them  to  meet  the  coming  mis- 
chief and  disaster  by  a  three  days'  fast,  as  the  letter  of 
the  man  of  God  had  indicated.  They  obeyed  these 
commands,  and  the  fast  was  ended,  when  lo,  a  vast 
multitude  of  the  Alamanni,  minions  of  Death,  laid 
everything  waste.  But  the  castles  felt  no  danger. 
The  trusty  cuirass  of  fasting,  and  praiseworthy  humil- 
ity of  heart,  with  the  aid  of  the  prophet,  had  armed 
them  boldly  against  the  fierceness  of  the  enemy. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

Later,  a  leper  from  the  territory  of  Milan  came  to 
Saint  Severinus,  attracted  by  his  fame.  When  he 
prayed  and  begged  to  be  made  whole,  Severinus 
decreed  a  fast,  and  commended  the  leper  to  his 
monks;  and  through  the  work  of  God's  grace  he  was 
forthwith  cleansed.  When  he  had  been  made  whole 
and  was  advised  to  return  to  his  coimtry,  he  threw 
himself  at  the  feet  of  the  saint,  imploring  that  he  be 
not  compelled  to  go  home  again;  desiring  that  he 
might  escape  from  the  leprosy  of  sin  as  he  had  from 
that  of  the  flesh,  and  might  close  his  life  in  the  same 
place  with  a  praiseworthy  end.  The  man  of  God 
greatly  admired  his  pious  purpose,  and  with  fatherly 
command  instructed  a  few  monks  to  practise  frequent 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  77 

fasts  with  him  and  to  continue  in  uninterrupted 
prayer,  in  order  that  the  Lord  might  grant  to  him 
those  things  which  were  meet.  Fortified  by  so  great 
remedies,  within  the  space  of  two  months  the  man 
was  freed  from  the  fetters  of  mortal  life. 


CHAPTER  XXVn 

At  the  same  time  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Quintanis,  exhausted  by  the  incessant  incursions  of  the 
Alamanni,  left  their  own  abodes  and  removed  to  the 
town  of  Batavis.  But  their  place  of  refuge  did  not 
remain  hidden  from  the  Alamanni:  wherefore  the 
barbarians  were  the  more  inflamed,  believing  that  they 
might  pillage  the  peoples  of  two  towns  in  one  attack. 
But  Saint  Severinus  applied  himself  vigorously  to 
prayer,  and  encouraged  the  Romans  in  manifold  ways 
by  examples  of  salvation.  He  foretold  that  the  pres- 
ent foes  should  indeed  by  God's  aid  be  overcome; 
but  that  after  the  victory  those  who  despised  his 
admonitions  should  perish.  Therefore  the  Romans 
in  a  body,  strengthened  by  the  prediction  of  the  saint, 
and  in  the  hope  of  the  promised  victory,  drew  up 
against  the  Alamanni  in  order  of  battle,  fortified  less 
with  material  arms  than  by  the  prayers  of  the  saint. 
The  Alamanni  were  overthrown  in  the  conflict  and 
fled.  The  man  of  God  addressed  the  victors  as 
follows.     "  Children,  do  not  attribute  the  glory  of  the 


78  EUGIPPIUS 

present  conflict  to  your  own  strength. '  Know  that 
ye  are  now  set  free  through  the  protection  of  God  to 
the  end  that  ye  may  depart  hence  within  a  Httle  space 
of  time,  granted  you  as  a  kind  of  armistice.  So 
gather  together  and  go  down  with  me  to  the  town  of 
Lauriacum."  The  man  of  God  impressed  these 
things  upon  them  from  the  fulhiess  of  his  piety.  But 
when  the  people  of  Batavis  hesitated  to  leave  their 
native  soil,  he  added,  "Although  that  town  also, 
whither  we  go,  must  be  abandoned  as  speedily  as 
possible  before  the  inrushing  barbarism,  yet  let  us  now 
in  like  manner  depart  from  this  place." 

As  he  impressed  such  things  upon  their  minds,  most 
of  the  people  followed  him.  A  few  indeed  proved 
stubborn,  nor  did  the  scorners  escape  the  hostile 
sword.  For  that  same  week  the  Thuringi  stormed 
the  town;  and  of  those  who  notwithstanding  the 
prohibition  of  the  man  of  God  remained  there,  a  part 
were  butchered,  the  rest  led  off  into  captivity  and  made 
to  pay  the  penalty  for  their  scorn.^ 

>  With  the  view  of  Severinus  may  be  contrasted  that  of  Saint 
Ambrose,  Epistolae,  xviii,  30:  "  deam  esse  victoriam  crediderunt 
[pagani],  quae  utique  munus  est,  non  potestas:  donatur,  non  domina- 
tiir,  legionum  gratia,  non  religionum  potentia  ";  "  they  have  be- 
lieved Victory  to  be  a  goddess,  which  is  in  truth  a  gift,  not  a  power; 
is  bestowed,  and  does  not  rule;  comes  by  the  aid  of  legions,  not  by  the 
power  of  religion." 

2  There  is  some  measure  of  justice  in  the  comment  which  PaUmann 
makes  upon  the  conduct  of  Severinus  in  this  instance.  "  With  his 
words  of  discouragement  Severinus  divided  the  strength  of  the  citi- 
zens. Through  his  disheartening  view  of  things,  he  brought  a  part 
of  them  to  despair,  without  helping  in  the  least  the  others  who  did  not 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  79 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

After  the  destruction  of  the  towns  on  the  upper  course 
of  the  Danube,  all  the  people  who  had  obeyed  the 
warnings  of  Saint  Severinus  removed  into  the  town  of 
Lauriacum.  He  warned  them  with  incessant  exhorta- 
tions not  to  put  trust  in  their  own  strength,  but  to 
apply  themselves  to  prayers  and  fastings  and  alms- 
givings, and  to  be  defended  rather  by  the  weapons  of 
the  spirit. 

Moreover  one  day  the  man  of  God  appointed  that 
all  the  poor  be  gathered  together  in  one  church,  that 
he  might,  as  custom  demanded,  dispense  oil  to  them: 
a  commodity  which  in  those  places  was  brought  to 
market  only  after  a  most  difhcult  transport  by  traders. 
Accordingly  a  great  throng  of  the  needy  assembled, 
as  if  for  the  sake  of  receiving  the  benediction.  No 
doubt  the  presence  of  this  fluid,  a  costly  food,  swelled 

join  him;  rather,  weakening  them.  So  was  the  strength  of  the  brave 
citizens  of  Passau  paralyzed."  Die  Geschichte  der  V olkerwanderung, 
ii,  p.  397.  It  would  not,  however,  be  fair  to  make  this  citation  from 
Pallmann  without  quoting  also  the  passage  {ibid.,  pp.  400  f.)  in  which 
he  sums  up  his  opinion  of  the  saint  and  his  public  activities.  "  It  is 
a  strange,  noble,  powerful  figure,  this  monk.  ...  A  political  head 
would  certainly  have  acted  wholly  otherwise  than  Severinus.  We  do 
not  know  whether  he  would  have  had  better  success.  Yet  it  was  a 
piece  of  good  fortune,  that  in  the  disastrous  time  after  the  death  of 
Aetius,  when  on  every  side  the  dissolution  of  the  Empire,  like  the 
death  of  a  human  body,  was  beginning  at  the  extremities,  and  the  prov- 
inces one  by  one  were  renouncing  their  connection  with  Italy;  when 
we  see  Gaul  independent  under  Aegidius,  Dalmatia  imder  Marcel- 
linus;  that  in  Noricum,  if  no  general  arose,  yet  at  least  a  pure  and 
lofty  spirit  sought  to  do  the  works  of  righteousness." 


8o  •        EUGIPPIUS 

the  throng  and  the  number  of  applicants.  When  the 
saint  had  finished  the  prayer,  and  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  he  uttered  as  usual,  while  all  listened,  the  word 
of  Holy  Writ,  "  Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
Then  he  began  with  his  own  hand  to  fill  the  measures 
of  oil  for  the  attendants  who  conveyed  it,  copying  as  a 
faithful  servant  his  Lord,  who  came  not  to  be  minis- 
tered unto,  but  to  minister.  1  And,  following  in  the 
way  of  the  Saviour,  he  rejoiced  that  the  substance  was 
increased,  which  he  poured  out  with  his  right  hand, 
his  left  hand  knowing  not.'  When  the  oil-vessels  of 
the  poor  were  filled,  the  oil  in  the  hands  of  the  attend- 
ants was  not  diminished.  Now  while  the  bystanders 
silently  wondered  at  so  great  a  blessing  of  God,  one  of 
them,  whose  name  was  Pientissimus,  in  amazement 
and  great  fear  cried  out,  "  My  Lord!  This  pot  of  oil 
increases,  and  overflows  like  a  fountain!  "  So,  its 
miraculous  powers  having  been  betrayed,  the  welcome 
fluid  was  withdrawn.  Straightway  the  servant  of 
Christ  cried  out  and  said,  "  Brother,  what  hast  thou 
done  ?  Thou  hast  hindered  the  advantage  of  many : 
may  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  pardon  thee!  "  So  once 
the  widow  woman  burdened  with  debts  was  bidden  by 
Elisha  the  prophet  from  the  small  quantity  of  oil 
which  she  had  to  fill  vessels  not  a  few.  After  she  had 
done  this,  and  asked  for  yet  more  vessels  from  her 
sons,  when  she  heard  that  there  was  not  a  vessel  more, 
straightway  the  oil  stayed.^ 

1  Mark,  x,  45.        -  Matthew,  vi,  3.        '  II  Kings,  iv,  2-7. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  8i 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

At  the  same  time  Maximus  of  Noricum,  of  whom  we 
have  made  mention  above,  kindled  by  the  warmth  of        ^ 
his  faith,  at  midwinter,  when  the  roads  of  that  region       / 
are  closed  by  the  numbing  cold,  hastened  to  come  to       f 
Saint  Severinus.    It  was  an  enterprise  of  rash  temerity,      | 
or  rather,   as  was  afterwards  manifest,   of  fearless      | 
devotion.     He  had  hired  many  companions,  to  carry     | 
on  their  backs,  for  the  benefit  of  the  captives  and  the     ' 
poor,  a  collection  of  clothing  which  the  people  of  Nori-     i 
cum  had  piously  given.^    So  they  set  out,  and  attained 
the  highest  peaks  of  the  Alps,  where  all  night  long  the 
snow  fell  so  thickly  that  it  shut  them  in  beneath  the 
protecting  shelter  of  a  great  tree,  as  a  huge  pit  would     ; 
inclose  those  who  had  fallen  into  it.     And  when  they 
despaired  utterly  of  their  lives,  since  no  aid  (as  they 
thought)  was  at  hand,  the  leader  of  the  companions     \ 
saw  in  his  sleep  a  vision  of  the  man  of  God  standing      j 
and  saying  unto  him,   "  Fear  not;    complete  your      \ 
journey."      They  were  instantly  heartened  by  this 
revelation,  and  resumed  their  course,  trusting  in  God 
rather  than  in  the  strength  of  their  limbs;  when  sud- 
denly by  divine  command  a  bear  of  monstrous  size 
appeared  at  their  side  to  show  the  way:  ^   though  in 

1  At  an  earlier  date  Noricum  was  celebrated  for  its  export  trade  in 
clothing.     Expositio  totius  Mundi  et  Gentium,  57. 

^  The  friendliness  to  the  righteous  of  beasts  usually  wild  and  savage 
is  a  common  feature  in  early  Christian  narratives.  See  the  index  to 
Heribert  Rosweyde's  Vitae  Patrtim  (2d  ed.,  Antverpiae,  1628).  There 
are  instances  of  lions  serving  as  guides  in  Rosweyde,  pp.  231  a,  816  a; 
and  of  a  wild  ass  in  the  same  capacity,  p.  229  a. 


^^ 


82  ,  EUGIPPIUS 

( the  winter  time  he  usually  hid  in  caves.     He  imme- 

Idiately  disclosed  the  desired  road,  and  for  about  two 

jhundred  miles,  turning  aside  neither  to  the  left  nor  to 

jthe  right,  showed  a  passable  way.     For  he  went  just 

tfar  enough  ahead  of  them  so  that  his  fresh  track  broke 

but  a  path.     So,  leading  through  the  desert  wilderness, 

jthe  beast  did  not  forsake  the  men  who  were  bringing 

'relief  to  the  needy,  but  with  the  utmost  possible 

f riendhness  conducted  them  as  far  as  human  habita- 

'  tions.     Then,  having  fulfilled  his  duty,  he  turned  aside 

and  departed:    showing  by  the  great  service  of  his 

;    guidance  what  men  ought  to  do  for  men,  and  how 

/    much  love  they  ought  to  display,  since  here  a  savage 

i     beast  showed  the  road  to  the  despairing. 

'  When  the  arrivals  were  announced  to  the  servant 

of  God,  he  said,  "  Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord  ! 

Let  them  enter,  to  whom  a  bear  hath  opened  a  way  for 

their  coming."     When  they  heard  this  they  marvelled 

with  exceeding  great  amazement  that  the  man  of  God 

should  tell  that  which  had  happened  in  his  absence. 

CHAPTER  XXX 

The  citizens  of  the  town  of  Lauriacum  and  the  fugi- 
tives from  the  upper  castles  appointed  scouts  to  explore 
the  suspected  places,  and  guarded  against  the  enemy, 
so  far  as  by  human  care  they  could.  The  servant  of 
God,  instructed  by  divine  inspiration,  arranged  before- 
hand with  prophetic  mind  that  they  should  bring 
inside  the  city  wall  all  their  meagre  property,  in  order 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  S^ 

that  the  foemen  in  their  deadly  foray,  meeting  with  no 
human  life,  might  be  promptly  forced  by  hunger  to 
abandon  their  frightful  and  cruel  designs.  This  he 
earnestly  entreated  for  four  days.  When  the  fourth 
day  already  verged  toward  evening,  he  sent  a  monk, 
Valens  by  name,  to  Saint  Constantius,  bishop  of  the 
town,^  and  said  to  the  others  who  remained,  "  Set  the 
customary  guards  at  the  walls  tonight,  and  keep  a 
stricter  watch;  and  beware  of  a  sudden  and  treacherous 
assault  by  the  foe."  They  declared  to  him  that  the 
scouts  saw  absolutely  nothing  of  the  enemy.  But  the 
servant  of  Christ  did  not  cease  to  forewarn  the  hesi- 
tant, and  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  afl&rming  that 
they  would  be  taken  captive  that  same  night  unless 
they  faithfully  obeyed  his  commands.  He  often 
repeated  the  words,  "  If  I  shall  be  proved  a  liar,  stone 
me."  So  at  last  they  were  compelled  to  guard  the 
walls. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  night  they  sang  psahns,  as 
they  were  wont,  and  afterwards  the  men  gathered  in 
great  numbers  and  commenced  their  watch.  Then  a 
nearby  haystack,  accidentally  fired  by  a  porter's 
torch,  illuminated,  but  did  not  burn  the  city.  When 
this  happened,  every  one  howled  and  shouted,  and  the 
enemy  concealed  in  the  woods  and  forests  were  terri- 

1  The  best  life  of  Constantius  is  by  Marcus  Hansitz  {Germania 
Sacra,  i,  pp.  82-87).  Hansitz  believes  that  much  of  the  success  of 
Severinus  in  his  work  must  have  been  due  to  the  cooperation  of  Con- 
stantius. 

The  '  archbishopric  of  Lauriacum  '  is  a  mediaeval  forgery,  long 
since  wholly  discredited. 


84  EUGIPPIUS 

fied  by  the  sudden  brightness  and  the  shouting,  and, 
thinking  themselves  detected,  remained  quiet.  Next 
morning  they  surrounded  the  city,  and  ran  to  and  fro 
everywhere;  but  when  they  found  no  food,  they 
seized  the  herd  of  cattle  of  a  certain  man  who  in  the 
face  of  the  prophecies  of  the  servant  of  God  had 
stubbornly  scorned  to  secure  his  possessions,  and 
withdrew. 

Now  when  they  were  gone  the  citizens  sallied  forth 
from  the  gates,  and  found  ladders  lying  not  far  from 
the  walls.  These  the  barbarians  had  made  ready  for 
the  destruction  of  the  city,  and  had  thrown  away 
when  they  were  disturbed  in  the  night  by  the  shouting. 
Therefore  the  citizens  of  Lauriacum  humbly  besought 
pardon  from  the  servant  of  Christ,  confessing  that 
their  hearts  were  harder  than  stones.  They  recog- 
nized from  these  events  that  the  loveliness  of  prophecy 
bloomed  in  the  saint.  Assuredly  the  disobedient 
populace  would  all  have  gone  into  captivity,  had  not 
the  accustomed  prayer  of  the  man  of  God  kept  them 
free;  for  as  James  the  apostle  bears  witness,  "  The 
continual  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much."  ' 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

Feletheus,  sometimes  called  Feva,  king  of  the  Rugii, 
hearing  that  from  all  the  towns  by  the  advice  of  the 
servant  of  God  the  remnants  that  had  escaped  the 
barbarian  sword  had  gathered  at  Lauriacum,  took  an 

1  James,  v,  i6. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  85 

army  and  came,  purposing  to  bring  them  quickly  into 
his  own  power  and  to  lead  them  away  and  settle  them 
in  the  towns,  of  which  Favianis  was  one,  that  were 
tributary  to  him  and  near  him,  and  were  separated 
from  the  Rugii  only  by  the  Danube.  Wherefore  all 
were  deeply  disturbed,  and  with  prayers  went  to  Saint 
Severinus,  that  he  might  go  forth  to  meet  the  king  and 
moderate  his  purpose.  All  night  Severinus  hastened, 
and  in  the  morning  met  him  at  the  twentieth  milestone 
from  the  city.  The  king,  much  alarmed  by  his  arrival, 
averred  that  he  was  vastly  distressed  by  the  saint's 
fatiguing  journey,  and  inquired  the  causes  of  his 
sudden  visit.  To  whom  thus  answered  the  servant  of 
God:  "  Peace  be  unto  thee,  most  excellent  king.  I 
come  to  thee  as  ambassador  of  Christ,  to  beg  compas- 
sion for  the  conquered.  Reflect  upon  the  grace,  recall 
to  mind  the  divine  favors,  of  whose  repeated  aid  thy 
father  was  sensible.  Throughout  the  whole  time  of 
his  reign  he  never  ventured  to  take  any  step  without 
my  advice.  He  did  not  withstand  my  salutary 
admonitions;  and  from  frequent  successes  he  learned 
to  recognize  the  great  value  of  an  obedient  mind,  and 
how  greatly  it  profiteth  victors  not  to  be  puffed  up  by 
their  triumphs."  And  the  king  saith,  "  I  will  not 
suffer  this  people,  for  whom  thou  comest  as  a  friendly 
intercessor,  to  be  ruined  by  the  cruel  plundering  of  the 
Alamanni  and  Thuringi,  or  slaughtered  by  the  sword, 
or  reduced  to  slavery,  when  I  have  neighboring  and 
tributary  towns  in  which  they  ought  to  be  estab- 
lished."    The  servant  of  Christ  firmly  answered  him 


86  EUGIPPIUS 

as  follows:  "  Was  it  thy  bow  or  sword  that  delivered 
these  men  from  the  continual  ravages  of  robbers  ? 
Were  they  not  rather  reserved  by  the  favor  of  God, 
that  they  might  be  able  for  a  short  while  to  obey  thee  ? 
Therefore,  most  excellent  king,  do  not  now  reject  my 
counsel.  Commit  these  subjects  to  my  guardian  care, 
lest  by  the  constraint  of  so  great  an  army  they  be 
ruined  rather  than  removed.  For  I  trust  in  my  Lord, 
that  he,  who  hath  made  me  a  witness  of  their  calami- 
ties, shall  make  me  a  suitable  leader  to  conduct  them 
to  safety." 

The  king  was  appeased  by  these  moderate  represen- 
tations, and  forthwith  went  back  with  his  army. 
Therefore  the  Romans  whom  Saint  Severinus  had 
received  in  his  guardian  care  left  Lauriacum,  were 
amicably  estabHshed  in  the  towns,  and  lived  in 
friendly  alliance  with  the  Rugii.^  But  Severinus 
dwelt  at  Favianis  in  his  old  monastery,  and  ceased 
not  to  admonish  the  peoples  and  to  foretell  the  future, 
declaring  that  all  were  to  remove  into  a  Roman  prov- 
ince without  any  loss  of  liberty. 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

At  about  the  same  time  King  Odoacer  addressed  a 
friendly  letter  to  Saint  Severinus,  and,  mindful  of 
that  prophecy,  by  which  of  yore  he  had  foretold  that 

1  That  this  exodus  was  a  partial  one  only,  is  indicated  both  by  the 
laws  of  probabihty  and  by  Ennodius's  Life  of  Antonius,  10-14.  An- 
tonius  remained  under  the  protection  of  his  uncle,  Constantius,  bishop 
of  Lauriacum,  for  some  time  after  the  death  of  Severinus. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  87 

he  should  become  king,  entreated  him  to  choose  what- 
soever gift  he  might  desire.  In  response  to  this  august 
invitation,  the  saint  asked  that  one  Ambrose,  who  was 
living  in  exile,  be  pardoned.  Odoacer  joyfully  obeyed 
his  command. 

Also,  once  when  in  the  saint's  presence  many  nobles 
were  praising  Odoacer  with  the  adulation  usual  among 
men,  Severinus  asked  on  what  king  they  were  confer- 
ring such  great  commendations.  They  replied, 
"  Odoacer."  "  Odoacer,"  he  said,  "  safe  between  thir- 
teen and  fourteen  ";  meaning  of  course  the  years  of 
his  unchallenged  sovereignty :  and  he  added  that  they 
should  live  to  see  the  speedy  fulfilhnent  of  his  prophecy. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 

At  the  entreaty  of  the  townspeople,  among  whom  he 
had  first  won  fame.  Saint  Severinus  came  to  Coma- 
genis.  One  of  the  nobles  of  King  Feletheus  had  a  son, 
a  youth,  who  was  wasted  away  by  inveterate  sickness 
and  for  whose  burial  preparations  were  already  in 
progress.  When  the  nobleman  learned  that  Severinus 
was  at  Comagenis,  he  crossed  the  Danube  and  cast 
himself  at  his  feet.  Weeping,  he  said,  "  I  believe,  man 
of  God,  that  thy  entreaty  can  procure  from  heaven  a 
swift  recovery  for  my  son."  Then  Severinus  offered 
prayer.  The  boy,  who  had  been  brought  to  him  half- 
dead,  straightway  arose  whole,  to  the  amazement  of 
his  father,  and  forthwith  returned  home  in  perfect 
health. 


88  EUGIPPIUS 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

Likewise  a  certain  leper,  Tejo  by  name,  attracted  by 
the  virtues  of  Saint  Severinus,  came  from  a  far  coun- 
try, asking  to  be  cleansed  through  his  prayer.  So  he 
was  given  the  customary  command,  and  bidden  cease- 
lessly and  with  tears  to  implore  God,  the  giver  of  all 
grace.  Why  say  more  ?  Through  the  prayers  of  the 
saint  the  leper  was  cleansed  by  the  divine  aid;  as  he 
altered  his  character  for  the  better,  he  gained  a 
change  of  color  also;  and  he,  and  many  others  who 
knew  of  him,  proclaimed  far  and  wide  the  mighty 
works  of  the  Eternal  King. 

CHAPTER  XXXV 


\  BoNOSUS,  by  birth  a  barbarian,  was  a  monk  of  Saint 
\  Severinus,  and  hung  upon  his  words.  He  was  much 
\  afflicted  by  weakness  of  the  eyes,  and  desired  that  cure 
;'  be  afforded  him  through  the  prayers  of  the  saint.  He 
I  bore  it  ill  that  strangers  and  foreigners  experienced 
;  the  aid  of  healing  grace,  while  no  cure  or  help  was 
i  tendered  to  him.  The  servant  of  God  said  unto  him, 
/  "  Son,  it  is  not  expedient  for  thee  to  have  clear  sight 
in  the  bodily  eyes,  and  to  prefer  distinct  vision  by  the 
eye  of  the  flesh.  Pray  rather  that  thy  inner  sight  may 
be  quickened."  Bonosus  was  instructed  by  these 
admonitions,  and  was  eager  to  see  with  the  heart 
rather  than  with  the  flesh.  He  gained  a  wonderful 
power  of  unwavering  continuance  in  prayer.     After 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  89 

he  had  remained  steadfastly  for  about  forty  years  in         ^ 
the  service  of  the  monastery,  he  passed  away  in  the      / 
same  ardent  faith  in  which  he  was  converted.  / 

CHAPTER  XXXVI  ^ 

In  Bojotro,  a  place  mentioned  above,  the  humble 
teacher  perceived  that  three  monks  of  his  monastery 
were  stained  with  horrid  pride.  When  he  had  ascer- 
tained that  each  of  them  upon  being  visited  with 
reproach  was  hardened  in  his  sin,  he  prayed  that  the 
Lord  should  receive  them  into  the  adoption  of  sons, 
and  deign  to  reprove  them  with  the  paternal  lash. 
Before  he  had  ended  his  tearful  prayer,  the  three 
monks  were  in  one  and  the  same  instant  seized  vio- 
lently by  the  devil  and  tormented,  and  with  cries 
confessed  the  stubbornness  of  their  hearts. 

Let  it  not  seem  to  any  one  cruel  or  wrong,  that  men 
of  this  sort  are  delivered  "  unto  Satan  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  flesh,"  as  the  blessed  apostle  teacheth, 
"  that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord 
Jesus."  2  For  Samt  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  said 
that  the  slave  of  Stilicho,  who  was  found  to  be  the 

1  This  chapter  is  apparently  out  of  the  regular  chronological 
sequence.  Chapter  XXVIII  presupposes  the  abandonment  or  de- 
struction of  aU  the  towns  on  the  Danube  above  Lauriacum,  including 
Bojotro.  It  is,  however,  the  opinion  of  PaUmann  {Geschichte  der 
Volkerwanderung,  ii,  pp.  393  f-)  and  of  Julius  Jung  {Romer  und  Ro- 
manen  in  den  Donaulandern,  Innsbruck,  1877,  P-  214)  that  there 
reaUy  was  no  break  of  the  sort  indicated  by  Eugippius  in  the  continu- 
ity of  occupation. 

2  I  Corinthians,  v,  5. 


90  EUGIPPIUS 

author  of  forged  letters,  ought  to  be  delivered  unto 
Satan,  that  he  might  not  dare  to  commit  such  crimes 
in  the  future;  and  at  the  same  moment,  while  the 
word  was  yet  in  the  bishop's  mouth,  the  unclean  spirit 
seized  the  slave  and  began  to  rend  him.^  Sulpicius 
Severus,  too,  relates,^  on  the  authority  of  Postumianus, 
that  a  certain  man,  admirable  for  his  great  virtues  and 
miracles,  aiming  to  drive  out  from  his  heart  the  vanity 
of  ostentation  into  which  he  had  fallen,  procured  by 
entreaty  "  that  power  over  him  might  be  given  the 
devil  for  five  months,  and  he  be  made  hke  those  whom 
he  himself  had  healed."  And  Sulpicius  says,  a  little 
further  on,  that  accordingly  "  he  was  seized  by  the 
devil,  held  in  chains,  and  endured  everything  which 
those  possessed  by  devils  are  wont  to  suffer;  until, 
finally,  in  the  fifth  month  he  was  cured,  not  merely 
from  the  devil,  but  (what  he  needed  and  desired  more) 
from  the  fault." 

So  the  man  of  God  turned  over  the  three  monks  to 
the  brethren,  and  subjected  them  for  forty  days  to  the 
bitter  remedy  of  fasting.  When  the  days  were  ful- 
filled, he  spake  a  prayer  over  them,  and  plucked  them 
forth  from  the  power  of  the  devil,  and  bestowed  upon 
them  soundness  not  only  of  body  but  of  mind.  As  a 
result  of  this  event,  the  saint  was  held  in  enhanced 
awe  and  terror,  and  a  greater  fear  of  discipline  pos- 
sessed the  rest.' 

^  Paulinus  Mediolanensis,  Vita  Amhrosii,  43. 

"^  Dialogi,  i,  20,  7. 

'  We  shall  not  be  far  astray  if  we  suppose  that  the  '  horrid  pride  ' 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  91 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

Marcianus  the  monk,  who  was  afterward  priest,  and 
who  preceded  me  in  the  headship  of  the  monastery, 
was  sent  by  Severinus  to  Noricum  in  company  with 
Brother  Renatus.  As  the  third  day  was  passing,  the 
saint  said  to  the  brethren,  "  Pray,  dearly  beloved,  for 
at  this  hour  grievous  tribulation  is  upon  Marcianus 
and  Renatus,  from  which  nevertheless  they  shall  be 
freed  by  Christ's  aid."  Then  the  monks  straightway 
wrote  down  what  he  had  said ;  and  when  many  months 
later  Marcianus  and  Renatus  returned,  and  made 
known  the  day  and  hour  of  their  peril,  at  which  they 
had  escaped  the  barbarians,  these  were  found  to  be 
just  as  had  been  written  down. 

of  which  the  three  monks  were  guilty  was  some  form  of  insubordina- 
tion. The  relation  between  humility  and  obedience  in  the  monk  is 
discussed  by  H.  B.  Workman  in  his  essay,  The  Evolution  of  the  Mo- 
nastic Ideal  (London,  1913),  pp.  68-74.  "  The  third  fundamental  idea 
of  Monasticism,"  he  says,  "  first  specifically  introduced  by  Pacho- 
mius,  was  the  renunciation  of  the  will.  This  is  sometimes  called 
obedience,  sometimes  humility;  in  reality,  from  the  Monastic  stand- 
point the  two  tend  to  become  one.  The  two  are  related  as  cause  and 
effect;  they  are  different  aspects  of  that  complete  self-remmciation 
which  is  higher  than  any  mere  outer  surrender.  The  man  who  has 
nailed  his  inner  self  to  the  cross  cannot  be  otherwise  than  humble; 
whOe  the  humble  man  will  show  his  humility  by  a  perfect  obedience." 


92  EUGIPPIUS 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

Also  most  blessed  Severinus  suddenly  commanded 
one  of  the  brethren,  by  name  Ursus,  to  meet  in  ad- 
vance a  coming  calamity  by  a  strict  fast  of  forty  days, 
with  abstinence  from  food,  and  lamentations,  saying, 
"  A  bodily  peril  threatens  thee,  which  through  God's 
protection  thou  shalt  avert  by  the  remedy  of  a  scanty 
diet  of  bread  and  water."  So  on  the  fortieth  day  a 
deadly  pustule  appeared  on  the  arm  of  the  fasting 
man,  which  he  immediately  showed  to  Severinus, 
approaching  him  as  a  suppUant.  The  holy  servant  of 
God  said  unto  him,  "  Do  not  fear  the  crisis  which  was 
foretold  thee  forty  days  ago  ";  and  straightway  with 
his  own  hand  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  it; 
whereupon  the  fatal  pustule  vanished,  to  the  amaze- 
ment of  the  bystanders. 

Let  it  suffice  to  have  told  of  this  one  of  his  cures  in 
\  his  own  household,  that  I  may  avoid  the  tediousness  of 
\  a  lengthy  task.  For  often  through  the  revelation  of 
1  Christ  he  foretold  the  illnesses  of  his  monks,  and 
i  healed  them  through  the  same  gifts  by  which  he  fore- 
'     saw  them. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX 

The  spiritual  teacher,  continuing  instant  in  prayer 
and  fasting,  dwelt  not  far  from  the  cell  of  his  disciples. 
With  them  he  regularly  completed  the  morning 
prayers,  and  the  proper  psakn-singing  in  the  evening. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  93 

The  remaining  times  of  prayer  he  fulfilled  in  the  little 
oratory  in  which  he  lived.  In  his  seasons  of  prayer 
he  was  often  strengthened  by  celestial  oracles,  and' 
through  the  grace  of  God  foretold  many  things  that 
were  to  come.  He  knew  the  secrets  of  many  things, 
and,  when  there  was  need,  made  them  known,  and 
provided  remedies  for  each  patient,  according  as  the 
kind  of  sickness  demanded.  His  bed  was  a  smgle 
mohair  rug  on  the  floor  of  the  oratory. ^  Always,  even 
while  he  slept,  he  wore  the  same  garment.^  He  never 
broke  his  fast  before  sunset  except  on  an  appointed 
festival.^     In  Lent  he  was  satisfied  with  one  meal  a 

1  The  couch  of  Saint  Anthony,  the  great  Egyptian  monk,  was  like- 
wise a  mohair  rug;  to  which,  in  his  case,  a  rush  mat  was  added. 
Athanasius,  Vita  Beati  Antonii  Abbalis  (Evagrius's  translation),  p. 
38  a  Rosweyde. 

2  Palladius  {Heraclidis  Paradisus,  35)  tells  a  like  story  in  praise  of 
the  Egj-ptian  monk  Paphnutius  Cephala:  "  De  quo  tale  refertur 
praeconium,  quod  per  octoginta  annos  numquam  habuerit  duas  simul 
timicas." 

3  Eusebius  (EcclesiasHca  Historia,  ii,  17;  Cruse's  translation, 
London,  1851,  pp.  56  f.,  corrected)  quotes  Philo  Judaeus,  De  Vita 
Contemplativa,  in  regard  to  the  asceticism  of  the  Therapeutae  of 
Egypt.  "  None  of  them  "  (he  says)  "  takes  food  or  drink  before  the 
setting  of  the  sun,  smce  they  judge  that  the  search  for  wisdom  should 
be  prosecuted  in  the  Hght,  while  it  is  appropriate  that  the  necessities 
of  the  body  should  be  attended  to  in  the  dark.  Whence  they  assign 
to  the  one  the  day,  and  to  the  other  a  small  portion  of  the  night.  But 
some  of  them  do  not  remember  their  food  for  three  days,  when  m- 
fluenced  by  an  uncommon  desire  for  knowledge.  And  some  are  so 
delighted,  and  feast  so  luxuriously  on  the  doctrines  so  richly  and  pro- 
fusely fm-nished  by  wisdom,  that  they  forbear  even  twice  this  time, 
and  are  scarcely  induced  to  take  necessary  food  even  for  sk  days." 
Eusebius  considers  that  xmder  the  name  of  Therapeutae  Philo  de- 
scribes the  early  Christians.     Valesius  (notes  to  Eusebii  Ecdesiastica 


94  EUGIPPIUS 

week,  yet  his  countenance  shone  with  the  same  cheer- 
fukiess.  He  wept  over  the  sins  of  others  as  if  they 
were  liis  own,  and  helped  to  overcome  them  by  such 
aid  as  he  could  give. 


CHAPTER  XL 

At  last,  after  many  struggles  and  long  contests,  Saint 
Severinus,  through  the  revelation  of  God,  perceived 
that  he  was  about  to  pass  from  this  world.  He  bade 
Feva,  king  of  the  Rugii,  mentioned  above,  to  come  to 
him  with  his  cruel  wife  Giso.  He  exhorted  Feva, 
with  salutary  words,  that  in  dealing  with  his  subjects 
he  should  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  he  must 
render  account  to  the  Lord  for  the  condition  of  his 
kingdom;  and  fearlessly  added  other  admonitions. 
Then  he  stretched  forth  his  hand,  pointing  to  the 
king's  breast,  and  reproachfully  asked  the  queen, 
"  Giso,  which  lovest  thou  the  more,  this  soul,  or  gold 
and  silver  ?  "  And  when  she  answered  that  she 
prized  her  husband  above  all  riches,  the  man  of  God 
in  his  wisdom  continued,  "  Therefore  cease  to  oppress 
the  innocent,  lest  their  affliction  result  in  the  destruc- 

Hisloria,  edition  of  1672,  p.  34)  believes  the  contrary.  The  matter  is 
yet  under  discussion.  H.  B.  Workman,  The  Evolution  of  the  Monastic 
Ideal,  p.  90,  especially  note  i. 

The  association  of  eating  by  night  with  asceticism  appears  to  have 
survived,  in  a  singularly  altered  form,  in  the  religious  body  organized 
by  George  Rapp  in  Wiirtemberg  on  the  model  of  the  primitive  church, 
and  later  established  at  Harmony,  Pennsylvania.  See  The  Atlantic 
Monthly,  May,  1866,  p.  535. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  95 

tion  of  your  power.  For  thou  often  bringest  to 
naught  the  clemency  of  the  king."  But  she  answered, 
"  Why  dost  thou  receive  us  so,  servant  of  God  ?  " 
He  replied,  ''  I  adjure  you,  I  the  lowly,  who  shall 
shortly  stand  in  the  presence  of  God,  that  ye  restrain 
yourselves  from  unjust  deeds,  and  apply  yourselves 
to  works  of  piety.  Hitherto  by  God's  help  your 
kingdom  hath  been  prospered.  Henceforth  look  to 
it."  The  king  and  queen,  much  instructed  by  these 
admonitions,  bade  him  farewell,  and  went  away.^ 

Then  the  saint  ceased  not  to  address  his  people  in 
the  sweetness  of  love  concerning  the  nearness  of  his 
departure.  Indeed,  he  had  done  so  ceaselessly  before. 
"  Know  ye,  brethren,"  he  said,  "  that  as  the  children 
of  Israel  were  delivered  out  of  the  land  of  Eg}^pt,  so 
all  the  peoples  of  this  land  are  destined  to  be  freed 
from  the  unrighteous  sway  of  the  barbarians.  For  all 
shall  depart  from  these  towns  with  their  possessions, 

'  The  learned  Bavarian  historian,  Johann  Adlzreitter,  floridly 
enlarges  this  conversation  to  three  times  its  length  in  Eugippius,  and 
makes  it  the  most  prominent  feature  in  his  long  and  curious  summary 
of  the  Life.     Annalium  Boicae  Geiitis  Paries  III  (1710),  coll.  124  f. 

The  comment  of  A.  F.  Ozanam  upon  this  interview,  though  quoted 
with  approval  by  Montalembert  {Les  Moines  d'Occident,  i,  p.  261) 
and  Charies  Kingsley  (The  Hermits,  p.  238),  is  more  rhetorically 
effective  than  just.  "  The  history  of  invasions  has  many  a  pathedc 
scene:  but  I  know  none  more  instructive  than  the  dying  agony  of 
that  old  Roman  expiring  between  two  barbarians,  and  less  touched 
with  the  ruin  of  the  empire  than  with  the  peril  of  their  souls."  La 
Civilisation  Chretienne  chez  les  Francs  (3d  ed.,  Paris,  1861),  pp.  41  f. 
It  requires  a  certain  amount  of  naivete  not  to  see  that  the  saint's  prime 
concern  in  his  warnings  is  rather  the  tranquiUity  of  the  provincials 
than  the  souls'  welfare  of  the  royal  couple. 


96  EUGIPPIUS 

and  shall  reach  the  Roman  province  without  any  loss 
by  capture.  But  remember  the  command  of  the  holy 
patriarch  Joseph,  in  the  words  of  whose  testimony  I, 
though  unworthy  and  most  lowly,  make  my  request 
to  you:  '  God  will  surely  visit  you;  and  ye  shall 
carry  up  my  bones  from  hence.'  ^  This  shall  profit, 
not  me,  but  you.  For  these  places,  now  thronged 
with  inhabitants,  shall  be  rendered  a  solitude  so 
utterly  waste  that  the  enemy,  thinking  to  find  gold, 
shall  dig  up  even  the  graves  of  the  dead."  The  pres- 
ent issue  in  fact  has  proved  the  truth  of  his  prophecy. 
But  the  most  holy  father,  with  pious  forethought, 
ordered  his  body  to  be  removed  as  a  token;  in  order 
that  when  the  general  transmigration  of  the  people 
should  take  place,  the  company  of  brethren  which  he 
had  gathered  might  depart  undivided,  and,  held 
together  by  the  common  bond  of  his  memory,  might 
endure  as  one  holy  society. 

CHAPTER  XLI 

Moreover  most  blessed  Severinus  revealed  two  years 
or  more  in  advance  the  day  on  which  he  was  to  pass 
from  the  body.-     This  he  did  in  the  following  manner. 

^  Genesis,  1,  25. 

2  Instances  where  saints  are  said  to  have  predicted  the  day  or  even 
the  hour  of  their  decease  are  not  rare  in  the  mediaeval  narratives;  but, 
as  compared  with  the  present  account,  they  are  usually  vague  and 
perfunctory.  A  casual  examination  of  a  volume  of  the  Acta  Sanc- 
torum taken  at  random  —  September,  iii  —  reveals  three  cases,  on 
pages  58,  293,  and  806. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  97 

On  the  day  of  Epiphany,  when  Saint  Lucillus  the 
priest  had  announced  in  agitation  that  on  the  mor- 
row he  was  to  perform  the  annual  rites  of  commemora- 
tion for  the  burial  day  of  his  abbot,  Saint  Valentine,^ 
formerly  bishop  of  the  Raetias,  the  servant  of  God 
replied,  "  If  Saint  Valentine  hath  committed  these 
rites  to  thee  to  be  performed,  I  too,  being  about  to 
depart  from  the  body,  bequeath  to  thee  the  care  of 
my  funeral  festival,  which  shall  be  observed  upon  the 
same  day."  Lucillus,  an  old  and  broken  man,  was 
greatly  shaken  at  this  saying,  and  rather  commended 
himself  earnestly  to  the  protection  of  Severinus,  on 
the  ground  that  he  was  likely  to  pass  away  first.  But 
Severinus  answered,  "  Holy  priest,  this  thing  which 
thou  hast  heard  shall  come  to  pass,  nor  shall  the 
Lord's  ordinance  be  brought  to  naught  by  the  will  of 


man." 


1  There  is  a  life  of  Valentine  in  Matthaeus  Rader's  Bavaria  Sancta 
(Monad,  1615-27),  i,  ff.  24b,  25,  26a,  with  a  fine  engraving  represent- 
ing the  saint  in  his  arboreal  retreat. 

"  Rura  Valentinum  tutantur,  et  oppida  peUunt. 
Fas  regnat  ruri,  regnat  in  urbe  nefas." 

Valentine  is  also  mentioned  by  Venantius  Fortunatus  {Vila  SancH 
Martini,  iv,  644-648) : 

"  Si  vacat  ire  viam  neque  te  Bajovarius  obstat, 
Qua  vicina  sedent  Breonum  loca,  perge  per  Alpem, 
Ingrediens  rapido  qua  gurgite  volvitur  Aenus. 
Inde  Valentini  benedicti  templa  require, 
Norica  rura  petens,  ubi  Byrrus  vertitur  undis." 


98  EUGIPPIUS 


CHAPTER  XLII 

Feva,  king  of  the  Rugii,  had  given  Favianis,  one  of 
the  few  towns  which  remained  on  the  bank  of  the 
Danube,  to  his  brother  Ferderuchus.  Near  this 
town,  as  I  have  related,  Saint  Severinus  dwelt.  When 
Ferderuchus  came,  as  was  his  wont,  to  pay  his  respects 
to  Severinus,  the  soldier  of  Christ  began  to  tell  him 
eagerly  of  his  approaching  journey,  and  adjured  him, 
saying:  "  Know  that  I  am  to  depart  quickly  to  the 
Lord.  Therefore  be  warned,  and  beware  of  attempt- 
ing, when  I  am  gone,  to  lay  hands  on  any  of  these 
things  which  have  been  committed  to  me.  Seize  not 
the  substance  of  the  poor  and  the  captives.  If  thou 
art  guilty  of  such  foolhardiness,  which  may  Heaven 
for  fend,  thou  shalt  feel  the  wrath  of  God!  "  Fer- 
deruchus, perturbed  by  the  unexpected  admonition, 
said,  "  Why  dost  thou  adjure  me  and  confound  me  ? 
I  do  not  wish  to  be  deprived  of  thy  mighty  protection. 
Indeed,  it  is  seemly  that  I  should  add  something  to  thy 
sacred  bounty,  which  all  men  know,  not  take  away 
from  it;  that  I  may  deserve  to  be  protected  by  thy 
wonted  prayer,  as  was  our  father  Flaccitheus.  He 
learned  by  experience  that  he  was  ever  aided  by  the 
merits  of  thy  holiness."  And  Severinus  said,  "  On 
the  very  first  opportunity  thou  wilt  wish  to  violate 
my  cell.  Then  straightway  thou  shalt  learn  the 
truth  of  my  words,  and  be  punished  in  a  manner  which 
I  do  not  desire."     Then  Ferderuchus  promised  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  99 

he  would  observe  the  admonitions  of  the  servant  of 
Christ,  and  returned  to  his  home. 

But  the  kindly  teacher  did  not  cease  to  speak  con- 
tinually to  his  disciples,  saying,  "  I  trust  in  the  grace  of 
my  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  if  ye  persevere  in  his  work, 
and  in  memory  of  me  remain  united  in  friendly  associa- 
tion, he  will  give  you  the  riches  of  eternal  Ufe,  nor  in 
this  world  will  he  deny  you  his  consolation." 


CHAPTER  XLIII 

On  the  fifth  of  January  he  began  to  be  slightly  dis- 
quieted by  a  pain  in  the  side.^  When  this  persisted 
for  three  days,  at  midnight  he  commanded  the  breth- 
ren to  be  with  him.  He  gave  them  instructions  as  to 
the  disposal  of  his  body,  strengthened  them  with 
fatherly  counsel,  and  bestowed  upon  them  the  follow- 
ing earnest  and  admirable  discourse. 

"  Most  beloved  sons  in  Christ,"  he  said,  "  ye  know 
that  blessed  Jacob,  when  he  was  about  to  leave  the 
world,  and  the  time  drew  nigh  that  he  must  die,  called 
unto  his  sons,  and  said,  '  Gather  yourselves  together  '; 
that  he  might  tell  them  that  which  should  befall  them 
in  the  last  days,  and  bless  them  every  one  according 
to  his  blessing.2  But  I  am  lowly  and  of  lukewarm 
faith.  I  am  inferior  to  such  piety.  I  dare  not 
assume  the  burden  of  this  privilege.  Yet  there  is  one 
thing  which  is  accordant  with  my  humility,  and  which 

*  Pleurisy.  ^  Genesis,  xlix,  1-33. 


lOO  EUGIPPIUS 

I  will  say.  I  will  refer  you  to  the  examples  of  the 
elders,  whose  faith  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their 
conversation.^  For  Abraham,  when  called  of  the 
Lord,  obeyed  in  faith.  He  went  forth  into  a  place 
which  he  was  to  receive  into  his  possession;  and  he 
went  forth  not  knowing  whither  he  was  to  go.  There- 
fore imitate  the  faith  of  this  blessed  patriarch,  copy 
after  his  holiness,  despise  the  things  of  earth,  seek  ever 
the  heavenly  home.  Moreover  I  trust  in  the  Lord, 
that  eternal  gain  shall  come  to  me  from  you.  For  I 
perceive  that  ye  have  enlarged  my  joy  by  the  fervor 
of  your  spirit,  that  ye  love  justice,  that  ye  cherish  the 
bonds  of  brotherly  love,  that  ye  neglect  not  chastity, 
that  ye  guard  the  rule  of  humility.  These  things,  so 
far  as  the  eye  of  man  hath  power  to  see,  I  confidently 
praise  and  approve.  But  pray  that  those  things  which 
to  human  view  are  worthy,  may  be  confirmed  by  the 
test  of  the  eternal  judgment;  for  God  seeth  not  as 
man  seeth.  Indeed,  as  the  divine  word  declareth,  he 
searcheth  all  hearts,  and  understandeth  all  the  imag- 
inations of  the  thoughts.2  Therefore  constantly  hope 
and  pray  for  this,  that  God  may  enlighten  the  eyes  of 
your  understanding,^  and  open  them,  as  blessed  EHsha 
prayed,  that  ye  may  see  •*  what  hosts  of  saints  sur- 
round and  support  you,  what  mighty  aids  are  prepared 
for  the  faithful.  For  our  God  draws  nigh  to  them 
that  are  without  guile.     Let  the  soldiers  of  God  fail 

*  Hebrews,  xiii,  7. 

2  I  Chronicles,  xxviii,  9;  Romans,  viii,  27. 

'  Ephesians,  i,  18.  *  II  Kings,  vi,  17. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  loi 

not  to  pray  without  ceasing.  Let  him  not  be  reluc- 
tant to  repent,  who  was  not  ashamed  to  sin.  Sinners, 
hesitate  not  to  lament,  if  but  by  the  overflowing  of 
your  tears  the  wrath  of  God  may  be  appeased;  for  he 
hath  seen  fit  to  call  a  contrite  spirit  his  sacrifice.^ 
Therefore  let  us  be  humble  in  heart,  tranquil  in  mind; 
guarding  against  all  sins  and  ever  mindful  of  the  divine 
commands;  knowing  that  meanness  of  garb,  the  name 
monk,  the  word  religion,  the  outward  form  of  piety, 
profiteth  us  not,  if  touching  the  observance  of  God's 
commands  we  be  found  degenerate  and  false.  There- 
fore let  your  characters,  my  most  beloved  sons,  accord 
with  the  vow  which  ye  have  assumed.  It  is  a  great 
crime  to  lead  a  sinful  Ufe,  even  for  a  man  of  this  world  ;^ 
how  much  more  then  for  monks,  who  have  fled  from 
the  enticements  of  the  world  as  from  a  hideous  wild 
beast,  and  have  preferred  Christ  to  all  desires;  whose 
gait  and  garb  are  held  to  be  evidence  of  virtue  ?  But 
why,  dearest  sons,  delay  you  further  with  a  long  ad- 
dress ?  It  remains  to  bestow  upon  you  the  last 
prayer  of  the  blessed  apostle,  who  saith,  '  And  now  I 
commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace, 
who  is  able  to  preserve  you,  and  to  give  you  an  inheri- 

^  Psalms,  li,  17. 

2  Homo  saeciilaris.  The  same  contrast  of  saecularls  and  nionachus 
is  made  by  Saint  Jerome,  Epistola  ad  Paidinum  de  Institulione  Mona- 
chi:  "  Saecularium,  et  maxime  potentium  consortia  devita.  Quid 
tibi  necesse  est  ea  videre  crebrius,  quorum  contemtu  Monachus  esse 
coepisti  ?  "  Opera  (Paris,  1693-1706),  iv,  2,  col.  566.  Homo  saccu- 
lar is  cannot  here  be  rendered  '  layman  ';  the  monks  themselves  were 
reckoned  laymen  (laid)  until  the  seventh  century. 


I02  EUGIPPIUS 

tance  among  all  them  which  are  sanctified.'  ^  To 
him  be  the  glory  for  ever  and  ever." 

After  this  edifying  address,  he  bade  all  in  succession 
approach  for  his  kiss.  He  received  the  sacrament  of 
the  communion;  and  altogether  forbade  that  they 
should  weep  for  him.  Having  stretched  out  his  hand, 
and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  his  whole  body, 
he  commanded  that  they  should  sing  a  psalm.  When 
the  grief  that  overspread  them  kept  them  silent,  he 
himself  started  the  psalm,  "  Praise  ye  the  Lord  in  his 
sanctuary;  let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the 
Lord."  2  And  so,  on  the  eighth  of  January,  repeating 
this  verse,  while  we  could  hardly  make  the  responses, 
he  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord. 

When  he  was  buried,  our  elders,  imphcitly  believing 
that,  like  his  many  other  prophecies,  what  he  had  fore- 
told in  regard  to  our  removal  could  not  fail  to  come  to 
pass,  prepared  a  wooden  casket;^  that  when  the  pre- 
dicted migration  of  the  people  should  take  place,  the 
commands  of  the  prophet  might  be  fulfilled. 

*  Acts,  XX,  32.  2  Psalms,  cl,  i,  6. 

'  Locellum:  in  the  next  chapter,  loculiini.  Andre  Baudrillart,  in 
his  biography,  Saint  Severin,  Apotre  du  Norique  (Paris,  1908),  p.  192, 
speaks  of  this  coffin  as  "  une  sorte  de  chapelle  portative  ou  d'oratoire," 
and  represents  the  monks,  throughout  the  removal  to  Italy,  as  '  pray- 
ing and  singing  in  it  day  and  night.'  This  monstrous  misconception 
may  serve  as  a  sufficient  sample  of  the  insouciance  with  which  M. 
Baudrillart  has  performed  his  task. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  103 

CHAPTER  XLIV 

Ferderuchus  was  poor  and  ungodly,  a  greedy  bar- 
barian, and  more  greedy  than  the  barbarians.  When 
he  learned  of  the  death  of  Saint  Severinus,  he  deter- 
mined to  carry  off  the  clothing  allotted  to  the  poor, 
and  some  other  things.  Joining  sacrilege  to  this  crime, 
he  ordered  that  the  silver  goblet  and  the  rest  of  the 
altar  service  be  carried  off.  Since  the  service  was  on 
the  holy  altars,  the  bailiff  who  was  sent  dared  not 
stretch  out  his  hands  to  such  a  villainy,  but  compelled 
a  certain  soldier,  Avitianus  by  name,  to  commit  the 
robbery.  Although  Avitianus  executed  the  order  un- 
willingly, he  was  from  that  moment  plagued  by  an 
incessant  trembHng  in  all  his  limbs,  and  furthermore 
was  possessed  by  a  devil.  Therefore  he  quickly  set 
right  his  sins  by  adopting  a  better  purpose.  For  he 
assumed  the  vow  of  the  sacred  profession,  exchanged 
the  weapons  of  earth  for  those  of  heaven,  and  with- 
drew to  a  lonely  isle.^ 

1  Islands  play  an  exceedingly  large  part  in  the  history  of  monasti- 
cism  in  the  Occident.  The  islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  isles  of 
Dalmatia  and  of  the  Tyrrhenian  Sea,  swarmed  with  monks:  not  to 
mention  other  well-known  examples.  Lucas  Holstenius,  Codex  Regu- 
larum  Monasticarum  (Augustae  VindeHcorum,  1759),  i,  p.  ix;  Sulpi- 
cius  Severus,  De  Beati  Martini  Vita,  vi,  5;  Rutilius  Namatianus,  De 
Reditu  suo,  i,  439-452  (Capraria:  "  Squalet  lucifugis  insula  plena 
viris  ");  Hilarius  Arelatensis,  De  Vita  Sancti  Honor ati,  iii,  16,  17,  in 
Migne's  Patrologia  Latina,  vol.  1,  coll.  1257  f.  (Lerina). 

The  encircling  watery  barrier  answered  a  threefold  purpose.  It 
served  as  protection  alike  against  the  enticements  of  the  world,  the 
sword  of  the  barbarian,  and  (according  to  the  popular  belief)  the  as- 
saults of  demons. 


I04  EUGIPPIUS 

Ferderuchus,  unmindful  of  the  adjuration  and  pro- 
phecy of  the  holy  man,  seized  all  the  possessions  of  the 
monastery,  and  left  only  the  walls,  which  he  could  not 
carry  across  the  Danube.  But  presently  the  threat- 
ened vengeance  came  upon  him.  For  within  the  space 
of  a  month  he  was  slain  by  Fredericus,  his  brother's 
son,  and  lost  booty  and  hfe  together. 

Therefore  King  Odoacer  waged  war  upon  the  Rugii. 
They  were  defeated,  Fredericus  was  compelled  to  flee. 
His  father  Feva  was  taken  prisoner,  and  removed  to 
Italy  with  his  wicked  wife.^ 

Later,  Odoacer  heard  that  Fredericus  had  returned 
to  his  home.  At  once  he  dispatched  a  great  army, 
under  his  brother  Onoiilfus;  before  whom  Fredericus 
fled  again,  and  went  to  King  Theodoric,  who  was  then 
at  Novae,2  g^  ^ity  of  the  province  of  Moesia. 

Onoiilfus,  however,  at  his  brother's  command  or- 
dered all  the  Romans  to  migrate  to  Italy.  Then  all  the 
inhabitants,  led  forth  from  the  daily  depredations  of 

1  A  long  and  entertaining  account  of  a  triumph  celebrated  by 
Odoacer  at  Rome  after  his  victory,  given  by  A.  Thierry  in  his  Recits 
de  Vllistoire  Rotnaine  au  F«  Siecle,  iii  (Paris,  i860),  pp.  352  flf.,  is 
purely  a  product  of  Thierry's  luxuriant  imagination.  His  invention 
is,  however,  imsuspectingly  accepted  as  historical  fact  by  Leopold  von 
Ranke  (WeUgeschichte,  iv,  i,  Leipsic,  1883,  p.  377)  and  J.  B.  Bury 
{The  Later  Roman  Empire  from  Arcadhis  to  Irene,  London,  1889,  i, 

p.  289). 

Paulus  Diaconus  {De  Gestis  Langobardorum,  i,  19)  says  that 
Odoacer  put  Feletheus  to  death.  As  to  Giso's  fate  we  know  nothing 
beyond  what  is  declared  by  Eugippius.  Thierry's  statement  {Recits, 
p.  353),  followed  by  Bury  {Later  Roman  Empire,  i,  p.  289),  that  she 
was  "  thrown  into  a  dungeon,"  rests  on  no  authority. 

2  Perhaps  now  Sistova,  in  Bulgaria. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  105 

the  barbarians  as  from  the  house  of  Egyptian  bondage, 
recognized  the  oracles  of  Saint  Severinus.^ 

When  Count  Pierius  compelled  all  to  depart,  the 
venerable  Lucillus,  then  our  priest,  was  not  unmindful 
of  the  command  of  Severinus.  After  he  had  ended 
singing  with  the  monks  the  vesper  psalms,  he  bade  the 
place  of  burial  to  be  opened.  When  it  was  uncovered, 
a  fragrance  of  such  sweetness  surrounded  us  who  stood 
by,  that  we  fell  on  the  earth  for  joy  and  wonder.  Then 
whereas  we  reckoned  in  all  human  expectation  to  find 
the  bones  of  his  corpse  disjoined,  for  the  sixth  year  of 
his  burial  had  already  passed,  we  found  the  bodily 
structure  intact.  For  this  miracle  we  returned  un- 
measured thanks  to  the  Author  of  all,  because  the 
corpse  of  the  saint,  on  which  were  no  spices,  which  no 
embalmer's  hand  had  touched,  had  staid  unharmed, 
with  beard  and  hair,  even  to  that  time.  Accordingly 
the  hnen  cloths  were  changed;  the  corpse  was  inclosed 
in  the  casket  that  had  been  prepared  for  it  long  before, 
placed  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  horses,  and  presently 
carried  forth.  All  the  provincials  made  the  journey 
in  our  company.  They  abandoned  the  towns  on  the 
banks  of  the  Danube  and  were  allotted  the  various 

1  Julius  Jung  {Romer  tifid  Romaner  in  den  Donauldndern,  p.  205) 
believes  that  the  exodus  was  less  general  tlian  the  words  of  Eugippius 
would  seem  to  imply.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  case  with  re- 
spect to  the  Roman  population  of  Riverside  Noricum,  it  is  obvious 
that  there  was  no  general  withdrawal  from  Noricum  Mediterraneum, 
where  the  provincial  organization  was  still  in  operation  in  the  time  of 
Theodoric.  Cassiodorus,  Variae,  iii,  50;  Quitzmann,  Die  dlteste  Ge- 
schichle  dor  Baiern,  p.  123. 


io6  EUGIPPIUS 

abodes  of  their  exile  through  the  different  districts  of 
Italy.  So  the  body  of  the  saint  passed  through  many 
lands  and  was  borne  to  a  castle  named  Mount  Feleter.^ 


CHAPTER  XLV 

DimiNG  this  time  many  that  were  attacked  by  divers 
diseases,  and  some  who  were  oppressed  by  unclean 
spirits,  experienced  the  instant  healing  of  divine  grace. 
A  certain  dumb  man  also  was  brought  to  this  castle 
through  the  compassion  of  his  kinsmen.  He  eagerly 
entered  the  oratory,  where  the  body  of  the  holy  man 
still  lay  upon  the  wagon,  and  when  he  offered  suppH- 
cation  behind  the  closed  door  of  his  mouth,  in  the 
chamber  of  his  heart,  immediately  his  tongue  was 
loosed  in  prayer,  and  he  spoke  praise  unto  the  Most 
High.  And  when  he  returned  to  the  inn  where  he  was 
wont  to  lodge,  and  was  questioned  as  usual  by  nod  and 
sign,  he  answered  in  a  clear  voice,  that  he  had  prayed 
and  had  offered  praise  to  God.  When  he  spoke,  they 
who  knew  him  were  terrified  and  ran  shouting  to  the 
oratory  and  told  Saint  Lucillus  the  priest,  and  us,  who 
were  with  him  and  knew  nothing  of  the  event.  Then 
we  all  rejoiced  exceedingly,  and  returned  thanks  to 
the  divine  mercy. 

1  Probably  the  present  Macerata  di  Monte  Feltre,  south  of  San 
Marino. 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  107 


CHAPTER  XLVI 

Barbaria,  a  lady  of  rank/  venerated  Saint  Severinus 
with  pious  devotion.  She  and  her  late  husband  had 
known  him  well  by  reputation  and  through  correspond- 
ence. When,  after  the  death  of  the  saint,  she  heard 
that  his  body  had  with  great  labor  been  brought 
into  Italy,  and  up  to  that  time  had  not  been  com- 
mitted to  earth,  she  invited  by  frequent  letters  our 
venerable  priest  Marcianus,  and  also  the  whole 
brotherhood.  Then  with  the  authorization  of  Saint 
Gelasius,  pontiff  of  the  Roman  see,  and  received  by 
the  people  of  Naples  with  reverent  obsequies,  the  body 
was  laid  to  rest  by  the  hands  of  Saint  Victor  the  bishop 
in  the  Lucullan  castle,^  in  a  mausoleum  which  Bar- 
baria  had  built. ^ 

1  Thomas  Hodgkin  {Italy  aiid  her  Invaders,  iii,  Oxford,  1885,  pp. 
190  f.  ;  or  2d  ed.,  1896,  pp.  172  f.)  seeks  to  identify  Barbaria  with  the 
widow  of  Orestes  and  mother  of  Romulus  Augustulus.  On  this  point 
see  Jung's  Romer  und  Ronianer  in  den  Do7iaulander,  p.  134;  and  Max 
Biidinger's  Eugipius,  eine  Untersuchimg,  in  Silzungsberichte  der  kaiser- 
lichen  Akademie der  Wissenschaften  (Vienna),  philosophisch-historische 
Classe,  xci,  i  (1878),  pp.  802  f. 

2  Now  Pizzofalcone. 

'  Two  more  translations  still  awaited  the  body.  October  14,  903, 
the  Lucullan  castle  was  abandoned  through  fear  of  the  marauding 
Saracens.  The  remains  of  the  saint  were  borne  in  solemn  procession 
to  the  great  Benedictine  monastery  of  Saint  Severinus,  within  the 
walls  of  Naples.  Joannes  Diaconus  Neapolitanus,  Martyrium  Sancti 
Procopii,  in  Octavius  Cajetanus's  Vilae  Sanctorum  Sicidorum  (Pa- 
normi,  1657),  ii,  p.  62,  reprinted  in  L.  A.  Muratori's  Kenan  Ilalicarum 
Scripiares  (Mediolani,  1723-51),  i,  2,  pp.  271  f.;  and  the  same,  printed 


io8  EUGIPPIUS 

At  this  solemnity  many  afflicted  by  divers  diseases, 
whom  it  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate,  were  instantly 
healed.     Among  them  was  a  venerable  handmaid  of 

from  another  manuscript,  under  the  title  of  TranslalioSanctiSeverini  or 
Hisloria  Translaiionis,  in  Acta  Sandorufti,  January,  i  (1643),  PP-  noo- 
1 103,  and  reprinted  thence  in  Momimenta  Germaniae  Historica:  Scrip- 
tores  Rerum  Langobardicaruni  et  Italicaruni  Saec.  VI-IX  (Harmoverae, 
1878),  pp.  452-459.  —  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  Luigi  Para- 
scandolo,  in  his  Memorie  Storiche-Critiche-Diplomatkhe  delta  Chiesa  di 
Napoli  (Naples,  1847-51),  ii,  pp.  253  f.,  doubts  the  authenticity  of  this 
narrative,  which,  he  thinks,  owes  at  least  its  present  form  to  the  labor 
of  some  Benedictine  monk  living  in  the  monastery  of  Saint  Severinus 
at  the  time  of  the  revival  of  learning. —  Descriptions  of  the  monastery, 
now  for  the  most  part  secularized  and  occupied  by  the  Royal  Neapo- 
litan State  Archives,  and  of  the  church  of  Saints  Severinus  and  Sosius 
connected  with  it,  may  be  found  in  Napoli  e  i  Luoghi  Celebri  delle 
sue  Vicinanze  (Naples,  1845),  h  PP-  233-243,  and  in  the  current  guide- 
books. 

Here  the  remains  of  Severinus  reposed  for  many  centuries,  not  in 
the  large  church,  but  beneath  the  great  altar  of  the  smaller  primitive 
church,  or  chapel,  connected  with  it.  The  inscription  on  the  great 
altar  is  given  in  Acta  Sanctorum,  January,  i,  p.  499: 

"  Hie  duo  sancta  simul  divinaque  corpora  Patres 
Sosius  unanimes  et  Severinus  habent." 

According  to  Sebastian  Brunner  {Leben  des  St.  Severin,  Vienna,  1879, 
p.  170),  the  following  inscription  was  found  in  the  crypt  when  it  was 
opened  in  1S07:  "  Divis  Severino  Noricorum  in  Oriente  Apostolo  et 
Sosio  Levitae  B.  Januarii  Episcopi  in  Passione  socio  Templum  ubi 
eorum  SS.  Corpora  sub  Altare  majori  requiescunt  et  Apostohco  in- 
dultu  cum  oblatione  sacra  purgantes  animae  liberantur." 

The  fourth  removal  was  on  May  30,  1807,  after  the  dissolution  of 
the  monastery  under  the  French  domination,  to  the  town  of  Fratta 
Maggiore,  a  few  miles  north  of  Naples.  Stanislao  d'Aloe,  in  Napoli  e 
i  Luoghi  Celebri  delle  sue  Vicinanze,  i,  p.  240  (d'Aloe  errs  as  to  the 
date);  G.  A.  Galante,  Memorie  dell'  Antico  Cenobio  Liiciillano  di 
S.  Severiiio  Abate  (Naples,  1869),  p.  41;  Brunner,  St.  Severin,  pp.  167- 


THE  LIFE  OF  SEVERINUS  109 

God,  Processa  by  name,  a  citizen  of  Naples,  who  suf- 
fered from  a  severe  and  troublesome  sickness.  In- 
vited by  the  virtues  of  the  holy  corpse,  she  hastened 
to  meet  it  on  the  way;  and  when  she  approached  the 
vehicle  in  which  the  venerable  body  was  borne, 
immediately  she  was  free  from  sickness  in  all  her 
members. 

Also  at  that  time  a  blind  man,  Laudicius,  was  star- 
tled when  he  heard  the  unexpected  clamor  of  the  peo- 
ple singing  psalms,  and  anxiously  asked  his  household 
what  it  was.  When  they  repKed  that  the  body  of  a 
certain  Saint  Severinus  was  passing,  he  was  moved  by 
the  spirit,  and  asked  that  he  be  led  to  the  window; 
from  which  one  possessed  of  sight  could  behold  afar 

172.  There  was,  it  would  appear  from  Brunner's  account,  some 
ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil  authority  for  the  removal  of  the  remains. 
Nevertheless  Dr.  Galante  considers  that  they  were  "  fraudolente- 
mente  rapitoci  "  (p.  41),  and  in  his  dissertation  (pp.  41  f-)  strongly 
urges  their  return  to  Naples.  "  Gives  Fractenses,"  he  writes  me 
under  date  of  March  20,  1914,  "  non  S.  Severini,  sed  S.  Sosii  corpus 
repetebant,  et  occasionem  nacti  expulsionis  Monachorum  e  coenobio 
et  templo  Severinianio,  prope  Archivium  Magnum,  corpora  utriusque 
simul  quiescentia  rapuerunt,  et  ad  oppidum  suum  transtulerunt,  ubi 
nunc  in  majori  templo  Fractensi  quiescunt.  Quamvis  Monachi  postea 
redierint,  haud  curae  fuit,  sacra  lipsana  repetere.  Superioribus  annis 
ego  nullum  non  movi  lapidem  ut  corpus  S.  Severini  Neapoli  restituere- 
tur,  sed  frustra;  praecordia  tantum  sanguine  intincta,  et  quatuor  ossa 
restituta  sunt,  quae  nunc  in  templo  S.  Severini  asservantur." 

From  1807  to  1874  the  bodies  of  Severinus  and  Sosius  lay  in  a  small 
chapel  near  the  parish  church  of  Fratta  Maggiore.  They  were  then 
removed  into  the  church,  to  a  new  chapel,  where  the  coffins,  placed  on 
either  side  the  altar,  were  covered  with  red  velvet,  and  distinguished 
by  the  gilt  letters  S.  S.  M,  (Sanctus  Sosius  Martyr)  and  S.  S.  A. 
(Sanctus  Severinus  Abbas).     Brunner,  St.  Severin,  pp.  179  f. 


no  EUGIPPIUS 

off  the  multitude  singing  psalms  and  the  carriage  bear- 
ing the  sacred  body.  And  when  he  leaned  forth  from 
the  window  and  prayed,  straightway  he  saw,  and 
pointed  out  his  acquaintances  and  neighbors  one  by 
one.  Thereupon  all  who  heard  him  wept  for  joy  and 
returned  thanks  to  God. 
,  Marinus  too,  precentor  of  the  holy  church  at  Naples, 

I  could  not  recover  his  health  after  a  terrible  sickness, 
i  and  suffered  from  a  constant  headache.  In  faith  he 
i  leaned  his  head  agamst  the  carriage,  and  immediately 
\  lifted  it  up  free  from  pain.  In  memory  of  this  benefit, 
I  he  always  came  on  the  anniversary  of  the  saint's 
i  burial  and  rendered  to  God  thanks  and  the  sacrifice 
\      of  a  vow. 

1  I  have  related  three  of  the  numberless  miracles  which 

I  were  wrought  on  the  arrival  of  the  saint  through  his 
I  mediation  and  virtues.  Let  it  suffice;  though  many 
I      know  of  more. 

\         A  monastery,  built  at  the  same  place  to  the  memory 

;,     of  the  blessed  man,  still  endures.      By  his  merits 

\     many  possessed  with  devils  have  received  and  do 

\    receive  healing  through  the  effective  grace  of  God;  to 

\   whom  is  honor  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

Illustrious  minister  of  Christ,  thou  hast  the  memoir. 
From  it  make  by  thy  editorial  care  a  profitable  work. 


LETTER  OF  PASCHASIUS  TO 
EUGIPPIUS 

Paschasius  the  deacon  to  the  holy  and  ever  most 
beloved  priest  Eugippius. 

Dearest  brother  in  Christ,  thou  measurest  me  by  the 
measure  of  thy  skill,  eloquence,  and  happy  leisure,  and 
disdainest  to  consider  my  vexatious  employments  and 
manifold  imperfections.  Yet  through  the  contem- 
plation of  thy  love  I  sustain  the  uijury  to  my  mod- 
esty.^ 

Thou  hast  sent  me  a  memoir  to  which  the  eloquence 
of  the  trained  writer  can  add  nothing,  and  in  a  short 
compendium  hast  produced  a  work  which  the  whole 
church  can  read.  The  life  and  character  of  Saint 
Severinus,  who  dwelt  in  the  provinces  bordering  on  the 
Pannonias,  thou  hast  portrayed  with  much  faithful- 
ness; and  thou  hast  handed  down  to  the  memory  of 
future  generations,  to  remain  through  long  ages,  the 
miracles  which  divine  virtue  hath  wrought  through 
him.  The  deeds  of  the  good  cannot  perish  with  time. 
All  persons  to  whom  thy  narrative  shall  bring  Saint 
Severinus  shall  have  him  before  them,  and  shall  per- 
ceive that  in  a  certain  sense  he  dwells  with  them.  And 

'  Paschasius  here  imitates  Sulpicius  Severus,  De  Beati  Martini 
Vita,  Praef.,  i:  "  Quid  enim  esset,  quod  non  amori  tuo  vel  cum  det- 
rimento  mei  pudoris  inpenderem  ?  " 

III 


1 1 2  PASCHASIUS 

so  as  thou  hast  told  very  simply,  and  explained  very 
clearly,  these  particulars  which  thou  didst  ask  me  to 
narrate,  I  have  thought  it  best  not  to  try  to  make  any 
addition  to  thy  work.  Indeed,  it  is  one  thing  to  relate 
what  we  have  been  told^  quite  another  thing,  to  draw 
from  the  stores  of  our  own  experience.  The  virtues 
of  teachers  are  particularly  visible  in  their  daily  life, 
and  consequently  are  more  easily  depicted  by  their 
pupils.  By  God's  gift  inspired,  thou  understandest 
the  value  of  the  deeds  of  the  saints  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  minds  of  the  good:  their  profitableness, 
the  fervor  they  impart,  their  cleansing  power.  On 
this  point  we  have  the  authority  of  the  well-known 
words  of  the  apostle,  "  being  ensamples  to  the  flock;  "  ^ 
and  Saint  Paul  commanded  Timothy,  "  be  thou  an 
example  of  the  believers."  ^  For  this  reason  Saint 
Paul  compiles  a  concise  catalogue  of  the  just,  and, 
beginning  from  Abel,  recounts  the  virtues  of  dis- 
tinguished men.^  So  also  that  most  faithful  Mat- 
tathias,  as  the  days  drew  near  that  he  should  die  a 
glorious  death,  distributed  to  his  sons  as  an  inheritance 
the  examples  of  the  saints;  ^  that  fired  with  sacred  zeal 
by  the  wonderful  battles  of  the  saints,  they  might  hold 
their  lives  as  naught  in  the  defense  of  the  eternal  laws. 
Nor  did  the  sons  find  the  father's  teaching  false.  For 
so  greatly  did  the  deeds  of  the  elders  profit  them,  that 
with  most  manifest  faith  they  terrified  armed  princes, 
overcame  the  camps  of  the  wicked,  overthrew  far  and 

^  I  Peter,  v,  3.  ^  Hebrews,  xi. 

^  I  Timothy,  iv,  12.  *  I  Maccabees,  ii,  49  seq. 


LETTER  TO  EUGIPPIUS  113 

wide  the  worship  and  altars  of  demons/  and  decorated 
with  perennial  garlands  they  provided  a  civic  crown  for 
their  glorious  country. 

For  this  reason  also  I  rejoice  that  through  a  bro- 
ther's service  something  is  provided  for  the  ornaments 
of  the  bride  of  Christ  ;2  not  that  at  any  time,  as  I 
beheve,  have  there  been  lacking  illustrious  examples  of 
the  elders,  but  because  it  is  fitting  that  the  palace  of 
the  Great  King  should  have  the  standards  of  many 
victories.  For  true  virtue  is  not  obscured  by  the 
multitude  of  virtues,  but  yearns  for  their  increase,  and 
is  enlarged  thereby.^ 

*  I  Maccabees,  iii,  8;  v,  44,  68;  x,  83  f. 
^  Revelation,  xxi,  2,  9. 

'  "  As  one  lamp  lights  another  nor  grows  less, 
So  nobleness  enkindles  nobleness." 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


A  List  or  Editions  and  Translations  of  the  Life 

(a)  Editions 

Laurentius  Surius,  in  De  Probatis  Sanctorum  Historiis,  vol.  i 
(Coloniae  Agrippinae,  1570),  pp.  153-161.  Printed 
from  a  greatly  abridged  manuscript,  now  lost.  Lacks 
the  letters  and  the  table  of  chapters;  chapters  6,  13,  14, 
16, 18-31,  39,  42;  and  parts  of  chapters  4,  9,  11, 12,  17, 
and  43.^  Repeated  in  the  editions  of  1576  {ibid.),  i, 
pp.  159-167,  and  1581  (Venetiis),  i,  ff.  49-52-  The 
third  Cologne  edition  of  Surius,  pubHshed  under  the 
title  Vitae  Sanctorum  (161 7)  repeats  (i,  pp.  111-121) 
Velserus's  text  of  1595,  with  the  addition  of  the  letter 
of  Eugippius  to  Paschasius. 

The  latest  edition  of  Surius  (Augustae  Taurinorum, 
1875-80)  reproduces  the  mutilated  text  of  the  earliest 
editions.    Tom.  i,  pp.  137-150. 

Caesar  Baronius,  Annates  Ecclesiastici,  tom.  vi  (Romae, 
1595),  first  printed  the  letter  of  Paschasius  to  Eugippius 
(a.  496)  and  that  part  of  the  letter  of  Eugippius  to 
Paschasius  which  relates  to  the  native  country  of  Seve- 
rinus  {a.  454) ;  also  chapters  18, 19,  and  42.     Baronius 

^  There  is  a  very  curious  bias  displayed  in  some  of  the  omissions. 
These  include  the  descriptions  of  the  habits  and  daily  life  of  Severinus 
(4,  39);  the  rehabilitation  of  the  repentant  husbandman  (12);  and 
the  exhortation  to  the  monks  to  lead  lives  of  practicd  godliness  (43). 

117 


ii8  APPENDIX 

had  the  Life  complete  in  manuscript,  and  printed  nearly 
a  third  of  it  in  the  Annals  under  the  years  454,  473,  475, 
482,  488,  493,  496.^  These  portions  are  repeated  in  the 
subsequent  editions  of  his  work,  of  which  there  are  ten 
or  more. 

Marcus  Velserus.  Histona  ab  Eugippio  ante  A  nnos  circiter 
MC.  scripta,  qua  Tempora,  quae  Attilae  mortem  conse- 
quuta  sunt,  occasione  vitae  S.  Severini  illustrantur.  Ex 
Bibliotheca  S.  Emmerani  Reginoburg.  nunc  primum 
edita,  cum  scholiis.  Augustae  VindeUcorum,  1595. 
Without  the  letter  of  Eugippius  and  the  table  of  chap- 
ters. The  first  separate  edition.  Repeated  in  Vel- 
serus's  Opera  {ibid.,  1682),  pp.  629-676. 

Henricus  Canisius,  Antiqua  Lectio,  tom.  vi  (Ingolstadii, 
1604),  first  printed  entire  the  letter  of  Eugippius  to 
Paschasius.  This  is  found  in  the  second  edition  of 
Canisius,  by  Jacques  Basnage  {Thesaurus  Monumen- 
torum,  etc.,  Amstelaedami,  1725),  in  vol.  i,  pp.  411  f. 

Joannes  Bolland,  in  Acta  Sanctorum,  Januarius,  tom.  i 
(Antverpiae,  1643),  pp.  483-499;  editio  novissima, 
tom.  i  (Parisiis,  etc.,  1863),  pp.  483-499. 

1  A  table  of  the  chapters  of  the  Life  printed  by  Baronius  may  be  of 

service.     The  first  column  gives  the  year  of  the  Annals;   the  second, 

the  sections,  which  are  found  in  several  of  the  editions;  the  third,  page 

references  to  tom.  viii  (1751)  of  the  best  edition,  that  of  Lucca;   the 

fourth,  the  chapters  of  the  Life. 

454        25-31  168  £F.  I,  2;  part  of  the  letter  of  Eugippius. 

3 

S,  S,  II  (2d  paragraph). 

7 
18 

ip,  40,  42,  43  (omitting  the  address),  44  (2  para- 
graphs). 
44  (completion),  45 
32  (the  prophecy  only). 
46;  the  letter  of  Paschasius. 


33.34 

170  f. 

473 

3-9 

318  ff. 

47S 

4 

331 

35 

338 

482 

53-63 

414-417 

488 

9-iS 

504  f. 

493 

3 

554 

496 

49-52 

606  f. 

APPENDIX  119 

Hieronymus  Pez,  in  Scriptores  Rerum  Austriacarum,  torn, 
i  (Lipsiae,  1721),  coll.  64-93. 

Berthold  Rizel,  in  Sancta  et  Beata  Austria  (Augustae  Vin- 
delicorum,  1750),  pp.  71-124.     Repeated  from  Pez.    ^ 

Joseph  Resch,  in  Amides  Ecclesiae  Sabionensis  nunc  Brixi- 
nensis  atque  Conterminarum  (Augustae  Vindelicorum, 
1760),  torn,  i,  pp.  296-322.  A  number  of  chapters 
toward  the  end  are  abbreviated. 

Johann  Heinrich  von  Falckenstein,  in  Geschichten  des 
grossen  Herzogthums  und  ehemaligen  Konigreichs  Bay- 
em,  part  i  (Munich,  etc., 1763),  pp.  79-120. 

Anton  Albert  Muchar,  in  Das  romische  Norikum,  vol.  ii 
(Gratz,  1826),  pp.  152-239-     Repeated  from  Pez. 

Jacques  Paul  Migne,  in  Patrologiae  Cursus  Computus,  vol. 
Ixii  (Parisiis,  1848),  coll.  1 167-1200.  Repeated  from 
Acta  Sanctorum.  The  letter  of  Paschasius  is  in  the 
same  volume,  coll.  39  f. 
Anton  Kerschbaumer.  Vita  S.  Severini,  auctore  Eugippio, 
secundum  Codicem  antiquissimum,  qui  Romae  asservatur. 
Cum  tabula  specimen  codicis  Lateranensis  continente. 
Scaphusiae,  1862.  The  first  edition  to  contain  the 
table  of  chapters. 
Johann  Friedrich,  in  Kirchengeschichte  Deutschlands ,  vol.  i 

(Bamberg,  1867),  pp.  431-489- 

Hermann  Sauppe.  Eugippii  Vita  Sancti  Severini.  Bero- 
lini,  1877.  In  Monumenta  Germaniae  Historica,  Auc- 
tores  Antiquissimi,  tom.  i,  pars  ii. 

PiusKnoell.  Eugippii  Vita  Sancti  Severini.  Vindobonae, 
1886.  In  Corpus  Scriptorum  Ecc'esiasticorum  Latino- 
rum,  vol.  viii,  pars  ii. 

Theodor  Mommsen.  Eugippii  Vita  Severini.  Berolini, 
1898.  In  Scriptores  Rerum  Germanicarum  in  usum 
Scholarum  ex  Monumentis  Germaniae  Historicis  recusi. 


I20  APPENDIX 

(b)  German  Translations 

Johannes  a  Via.  Das  Leben  des  H.  Severini  N ortgoivischen 
Apostels,  durch  Eugippium  beschriben.  In  his  Historien 
der  Lieben  Heiligen  Gottes,  aus  dem  Latein  [of  Surius] 
verteutschet  (Munich,  1574-80),  vol.  i,  ff.  xciv-xcix. 

Mathias  Fuhrmann.  Leben  und  Wunderthaten  des  Heiligen 
Nordgauer,  oder  Oesterreicher  A postels  Severin.  Vienna, 
1746. 

Johann  Heinrich  von  Falckenstein,  1763,  in  columns  paral- 
lel to  his  text. 

Leben  des  heil.  Severin,  aus  dem  Latein.    Passau,  181 7. 

P.  Durach.     Das  Leben  des  h.  Severin.     Passau,  1847. 

Carl  Ritter.  Das  Leben  des  heiligen  Monches  und  Apostels 
der  Noriker  Severin,  beschrieben  von  Eugippius.    Linz, 

1853- 
Jakob  Leitner,  in  Leben  und  Wirken  des  HI.  Severin  und  der 

heiligen  Bischofe  Maximilian  und  Valentin  (3d  edition, 

Passau,  1868),  pp.  112-174. 

Karl  Rodenberg.  Leben  des  heiligen  Severin,  von  Eugip- 
pius. Leipsic,  1878;  2d  edition,  1884.  In  Geschicht- 
schreiber  der  deutschen  Vorzeit. 

Sebastian  Brunner.  Das  Leben  des  N oriker- Apostels  St. 
Severin,  von  seinem  Schiller  Eugippius.  Die  wichtigste 
Urkunde  aus  der  Zeit  der  Volkerwanderung.  Aus  dem 
Lateinischen.  Mit  Einleitung,  Erkldrungen,  moglichst 
vollstdndiger  Literatur  und  einem  Bericht  iiber  die  Grabe- 
stdtten  St.  Severins  bis  auf  die  neueste  Zeit.  Mit  einer 
Abbildung  der  neuen  St.  Severinuskirche  in  Wien. 
Vienna,  1879. 


APPENDIX  121 

(c)  French  Translation  ^ 

In  Jean  Baptiste  Carnandet's  Les  Actes  des  Saints,  Janvier, 
iii  (Lyons,  1867),  pp.  481-509. 

II 

A  Latin  Hymn  in  Praise  of  Saint  Severinus  ~ 

Canticum  laudis  domino  canentes 
Hunc  diem  festum  celebremus  omnes, 
Quo  Severinus  penetravit  almus 

Celsa  polorum. 
Quis  stilo  dives  modulansque  plectro 
Cimcta  signorum  replicare  possit, 
Quae  potens  Christus  studiis  opimis 

Contulit  ejus  ? 

1  Tillemont,  whose  accuracy  is  commonly  unimpeachable,  says  of 
the  Life  {Memoires  pour  servir  a  VHistoire  Ecclesiastique  des  six  Pre- 
miers Siecles,  Paris,  i  yoi-i^J  xvi,  p.  180)  "  Elle  est  traduite  en  frangois 
dans  les  Saints  illustres  de  Mr.  d'Andilli."  A  careful  search,  how- 
ever, has  so  far  failed  to  reveal  such  a  translation.  The  reference  to 
it  in  Remy  Ceillier's  Histoire  Generate  des  Aiiteiirs  Sacres  ct  Ecdesias- 
tiques  (Paris,  1729-63),  xvi,  p.  158,  may  be  borrowed  from  Tillemont. 

2  A  remarkable  Neapolitan  hynmary,  apparently  that  of  the  mon- 
astery of  Saint  Severinus,  is  preserved  in  two  closely  related  manu- 
scripts of  about  the  end  of  the  tenth  century.  Codex  Vaticanus  7172 
and  MS.  1092  of  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  at  Paris.  Guido  Maria 
Dreves  has  printed  it  from  these,  under  the  title  of  Hymnarius  Severi- 
nianus,  as  volume  xiv  a  of  Analeda  Hymnica  Medii  Aevi  (Leipsic, 
1893).  In  it  are  two  hymns  (34  and  35,  in  Dreves's  edition)  in  praise 
of  Saint  Severinus.  The  second  dates  from  the  tenth  century,  as  is 
shown  by  its  reference  to  the  signs  and  wonders  that  accompanied  the 
translation  of  the  relics  of  the  saint  from  the  Lucullan  castle  to  Naples. 
It  contains  nothing  of  biographical  interest.  The  other  was  first  pub- 
lished by  Antoine  Frederic  Ozanam,  in  his  Documents  Inedits  pour 
servir  a  VHistoire  Litter  aire  de  t'ltalie  (Paris,  1850),  pp.  241  ff.,  from  the 


122  APPENDIX 

Inclitus  vates  nimiumque  felix, 

Saepius  cui  deus  intimabat  (11,39, 

Tunc  ad  oppress!  populi  salutem  40) 

Multa  futura, 
Voce  praesaga  laqueos  latronum  (10) 

Atque  praedonum  machinas  retexens  (4,  5) 

Valde  tutabat  monitis  supernis  (11,  25,  30) 

Oppida  fessa. 
Dulce  solamen  miseris  ministrans 
Horridam  pestem  famis  amputa''/it,  (3,  18) 

Barbara  plures  feritate  victos  (8,  9,  10,  19) 

Solvit  ab  hoste. 
Magne  confessor,  humilis  magister,  (36) 

Tu  quidem  normam  monachis  dedisti,  (4,  9,  39) 

Calle  demonstrans  sobrio  sequaces 

Scandere  celum. 

Vatican  manuscript.  It  is  Ozanam's  opinion  that  it  was  composed 
shortly  after  the  preparation  of  the  Life.  The  classical  purity  of  form 
and  the  unblurred  outline  of  the  story  strongly  support  this  view. 
After  Ozanam,  Migne,  Sauppe,  KnoeU,  and  Mommsen,  in  their  edi- 
tions of  the  Life,  and  Dreves  (as  above)  have  printed  the  hymn. 
Dreves  alone  has  used  the  Paris  manuscript.  He  has  also  suppHed, 
from  another  hymn  with  a  similar  ending,  the  last  three  lines  of  the 
final  stanza,  the  Doxology,  which  is  incomplete  in  the  manuscripts. 
His  text  is,  however,  carelessly  printed.  Andre  Baudrillart  gives  a 
French  translation  as  an  appendix  to  his  Saint  Sever  in  (1908).  Sebas- 
tian Brunner  in  his  translation  of  the  Life  (1879),  pp.  181  f.,  gives  in 
German  a  very  free  metrical  paraphrase,  "  so  arranged,"  he  says, 
"  that  it  might  be  sung  as  a  church  hymn  on  the  festival  of  the  saint." 
Its  suitability  for  this  purpose  is  lessened  by  the  fact  that  Brunner  has 
inadvertently  substituted  '  Silenus  '  for  '  Silvinus  '  in  his  rendering  of 
the  ninth  stanza. 

The  text  which  is  here  presented  follows  that  of  Mommsen,  with 
some  correction  of  punctuation,  and  with  the  completing  verses  of  the 
Doxology  from  Dreves.  The  marginal  numerals  in  parentheses  refer 
to  chapters  of  the  Life. 


APPENDIX  123 

In  tuis  sacris  manibus  refulsit  (13) 

Celitus  lumen,  refluensque  crevit 

Ad  tuos  haustus  olei  liquamen  (28) 

Fontis  ad  instar. 
Condolens  cunctos  inopes  fovebat,  (17) 

Languidos  sanans  relevabat  aegros:  (6,  14, 

Omnis  accedens  salubrem  medelam ,  33,  34,  38, 

Sumpsit  ab  illo.  39) 

Tuque  Sylvinum  loculo  jacentem,  (16) 

Fratribus  coram  precibus  peractis, 
Morte  devicta  redire  fecisti  ad 

Gaudia  vitae. 
Cereos  flamma  fidei  cremante  (11) 

Arguit  sanctus  pater  infideles : 
Nosque  flammescunt  deitatis  igne 

Algida  corda. 
Cujus  ad  funus  veniens  sacratum 
Mutus  accepit  modules  loquelae,  (45) 

Caecus  exultat  procul  ambulantes  (46) 

Cernere  notos. 
Neapolis,  gaude  redimita  festa, 
Plaude  caelestem  retinens  patronum, 
Quern  tibi  summus  decus  et  juvamen 

Praestitit  auctor. 
Hujus  o  Clemens  meritis  creator 
Gloriam  nobis  veniamque  confer, 
Quo  tui  cultus  super  astra  semper 

Luce  fruamur. 
Gloriam  patri  resonemus  omnes, 
Gloriam  Christo  supplices  canamus, 
Cum  quibus  sanctus  simul  et  creator 

Spiritus  regnat. 


124  APPENDIX 

Translation 

Singing  a  song  of  praise  unto  the  Lord,  let  us  all  celebrate 
this  festal  day,  on  which  kind  Severinus  entered  the  heights 
of  heaven. 

What  eloquent  pen,  what  tuneful  lyre  can  repeat  all  the 
miracles  which  mighty  Christ  bestowed  upon  his  excellent 
zeal  ? 

Seer  of  renown  and  exceeding  good  omen,  to  whom,  for 
the  salvation  of  the  people  then  prostrate,  God  often  made 
known  many  things  that  were  to  come. 

With  prophetic  word  he  unravelled  the  snares  of  robbers 
and  the  tricks  of  plunderers,  and  by  supernal  warnings 
strongly  defended  the  exhausted  towns. 

Giving  sweet  relief  to  the  unfortunate,  he  banished  the 
horrid  curse  of  famine,  and  set  free  from  the  foe  many  who 
had  been  conquered  by  the  fierce  barbarians. 

Great  confessor,  meek  master,  thou  didst  indeed  give  a 
pattern  to  the  monks,  showing  them  how  to  mount  to 
heaven,  following  in  the  narrow  path  of  temperance. 

In  thy  sacred  hands  glittered  the  light  from  heaven;  and 
the  oil  at  thy  drawing  overflowed  and  increased  Uke  a  foun- 
tain. 

He  sympathized  with  all  the  destitute,  and  cherished 
them;  he  healed  the  sick,  he  relieved  the  suffering:  every 
one  who  approached  received  heahng  remedy. 

And  in  the  presence  of  the  brethren  thou  didst  pray  over 
Silvinus  as  he  lay  in  the  coffin,  and,  conquering  death, 
bring  him  back  to  the  joys  of  life. 

By  the  flame  that  burned  the  waxen  tapers  of  the  faithful 
the  holy  father  convicted  the  unbelievers;  and  our  cold 
hearts  flame  with  the  fire  of  God. 


APPENDIX  125 

Coming  to  his  sacred  burial,  the  dumb  received  speech, 
the  blind  exulteth  to  recognize  those  that  walk  afar. 

Naples,  rejoice  in  thy  festal  crown!  Clap  thy  hands, 
keeping  the  heavenly  patron  whom  the  sovereign  Author 
hath  bestowed  upon  thee  as  thy  honor  and  help. 

For  his  merits,  0  merciful  Creator,  grant  us  glory  and 
pardon,  that  above  the  stars  we  may  ever  enjoy  the  light 
of  thy  worship. 

Let  us  all  resovmd  glory  to  the  Father,  let  us  m  suppli- 
ance  smg  glory  unto  Christ;  with  whom  reigneth  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  Creator. 

Ill 

Chronological  Table 

(Numerals  in  parentheses  refer  to  chapters  of  the  Life.) 

453.  Death  of  Attila.  At  about  this  time  Severinus  comes 
"  from  the  parts  of  the  East  to  the  marches  of  River- 
side Noricum  and  the  Pannonias  "  (i). 

455,  9  Sept.     Sabaria  is  destroyed  by  an  earthquake  (2  ?). 

476,  23  Aug.     Odoacer  is  proclaimed  ruler  of  Italy. 

28  Aug.    The  patrician  Orestes  is  "  unjustly  slain." 
(Letter  to  Paschasius). 

Autumn  or  winter  ?    Primenius  takes  refuge  with 
Severinus  (ibid.). 

c.  482,  8  Jan.  Death  of  Severinus  at  his  monastery  near 
Favianis  (43). 

487.  Odoacer  wages  war  on  the  Rugii.  Fredericus  flees. 
Feletheus  and  Giso  are  removed  to  Italy  (44). 

488  ?  Fredericus  returns.  He  is  agam  put  to  flight,  this 
time  by  an  army  which  Odoacer  sends  imder  his 
brother   Onoulfus.      Onoulfus  and   Covmt   Pierius 


126  APPENDIX 

order  the  Roman  provincials  of  Riverside  Noricum 
to  withdraw  to  Italy.  The  body  of  Severinus  is  dis- 
interred, and  is  accompanied  by  the  monks  to  Mount 
Feleter,  in  Italy.  The  provincials  are  assigned 
abodes  "  through  the  different  districts  of  Italy  " 

(44). 

Fredericus  goes  to  Theodoric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths, 

at  Novae  in  Moesia  (44). 

489.  Theodoric,  with  the  authorization  of  the  Emperor 
Zeno,  invades  Italy,  and  defeats  Odoacer  at  the 
Isonzo  (28  Aug.)  and  at  Verona  (30  Sept.).  Fulfill- 
ment of  the  prophecy  of  Severinus  (32). 

492-96.  Gelasius  is  pope.  Sometime  during  his  pontifi- 
cate, the  body  of  Severinus  is  removed  to  the  Lucul- 
lan castle,  near  Naples,  and  there  placed  by  Saint 
Victor,  bishop  of  Naples,  in  a  mausoleum  built  for  it 
by  Barbaria  (46). 

493,  27  Feb.  Peace  between  Theodoric  and  Odoacer. 
15  Mar.  Odoacer  is  assassinated  by  Theodoric,  who 
becomes  sole  ruler  of  Italy. 

511.  Eugippius,  second  abbot  of  the  monastery  of  Saint 
Severinus  at  the  Lucullan  castle,  sends  the  Life  of 
Severinus  to  Deacon  Paschasius. 

526,  30  Aug.  Death  of  Theodoric. 


INDICES 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS   CITED 
IN   THE    NOTES 


Acta  Sanctorum,  58,  96,   108. 

See  Bolland. 
Adlzreitter,  Johann,  46,  95. 
Allgemeine  Weltgeschichte,  41. 
Aloe,  Stanislao  d',  108. 
Ambrose,  Saint,  78. 
Andilli,  see  Arnauld  d'Andilly. 
Anonymus  Cuspiniani,  32. 
Anonymus  Valesianus,  18. 
Antonini  Augusti  Itinerarium, 

32. 
Arnauld     d'Andilly,     Robert, 

121. 
Athanasius,  93. 
Atlantic  Monthly,  The,  94. 
Augustine,  Saint,  64,  69. 
Ausonius,  51. 

Barker,  Ernest,  42. 
Baronius,  Caesar,  67,  118. 
Baudrillart,  Andre,  102,  122. 
Bible,  The: 

Acts,  102. 

I  Chronicles,  100. 

Colossians,  S3- 

I  Corinthians,  16,  44,  89. 

Ephesians,  S3,  39,  loo- 

Exodus,  35. 

Genesis,  51,  96,  99. 

Hebrews,  100,  112. 


James,  84. 

Jeremiah,  42. 

Joel,  55,  56. 

II  Kings,  80,  icx>. 

Luke,  51,  64. 

I  Maccabees,  112,  113. 

Mark,  80. 

Matthew,   19,  34,  38,   64, 
80. 

I  Peter,  112. 

Psalms,  loi,  112. 

Revelation,  113. 

Romans,  100. 

I  Timothy,  112. 
Bolland,  Joannes,  $5. 
Brunner,  Andreas,  34. 
Brunner,  Sebastian,  108,  109, 

122. 
BucUand,  W.  W.,  18. 
Biidinger,  Max,  46,  107. 
Bury,  J.  B.,  104. 
Butler,  E.  C,  37. 

Cajetanus,  Octavius,  107. 
Cambridge  Medieval  History, 

The,  42. 
Cassiodorus,  105. 
Ceilher,  Remy,  121. 
Codex  Theodosianus,  18. 
Cruse,  C.  P.,  93. 

139 


I30 


Curschmann,  Fritz,  39,  55. 
Cuspinianus,  Joannes,  36. 

Dahn,  Felix,  74. 
Deacon,  Thomas,  49. 
Dictionary  of  Christian  Biog- 
raphy, 74. 
Dreves,  G.  M.,  121,  122. 
Du  Cange,  51,  53. 

Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  37. 
Ennodius,  41,  45,  53,  86. 
Eusebius,  93. 
Evagrius,  93. 

Excerptum  Sangallense,  32. 
Expositio  totius  Mundi  et  Gen- 
tium, 52,  81. 

Falckenstein,  J.  H.   von,    18, 

63. 
Frick,  Karl,  32. 

Galante,  G.  A.,  108,  109. 

Gelehrte  Anzeigen  der  koniglich 
bayerischen  Akademie  der 
Wissenschaften  (Munich),  74. 

Gregory  of  Tours,  67. 

Gregory  the  Great,  71. 

Hansitz,  Marcus,  19,  38,  83. 

Harnack,  Adolf,  45. 

Harvard   Studies   in   Classical 

Philology,  58. 
Hayes,  C.  H.,  7,  29,  42. 
Hilarius  Arelatensis,  103. 
Historia  Translationis,  108. 
Hodgkin,  Thomas,  70,  107. 
Holstenius,  Lucas,  103. 
Eymnarius  Severinianus,  121. 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS 

Isidorus  Hispalensis,  30. 


Jerome,  Saint,  64,  loi. 
Joannes   Diaconus  Neapolita- 

nus,  107. 
John  Chrysostom,  Saint,  64. 
Jordanes,  18,  38,  41,  52,  66,  72, 
Jung,  Julius,  89,  105,  107. 

Kaufmann,  Georg,  36. 
Kingsley,  Charles,  95. 
Knoell,  Pius,  S3,  52,  122. 

Lazius,  Wolfgang,  37. 
Le  Nain  de  Tillemont,  Sebas- 
tian, 49,  121. 

Marcellinus  Comes,  55. 
Menander  Protector,  52. 
Migne,  J.  P.,  51,  64,  103,  122. 
Mommsen,   Theodor,   32,   ^^, 

122. 
Montalembert,  Comte  de,  95. 
Monumenta    Germaniae    His- 

lorica,  8,  32,  108. 
Morgan,  M.  H.,  58. 
Muchar,  A.  A.,  52. 
Muratori,  L.  A.,  107. 

Napoli  e  i  Luoghi  Celebri  delle 

sue  Vicinanze,  108. 
Nicolas,  Sir  Harris,  32. 
Notitia  Dignitatum,  60,  66,  69. 

Ozanam,  A.  F.,  95,  121,  122. 

Palladius,  93. 

Pallmann,  Reinhold,  74,  78,  89. 

Parascandolo,  Luigi,  108. 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS 


131 


Paulinus  Mediolanensis,  90. 
Paulinus  of  Nola,  51. 
Paulus  Diaconus,  104. 
Penck,  Albrecht,  39. 
Pflugk-Harttung,   Julius   von, 

41. 
Philo  Judaeus,  93. 
Priscus,  18. 

Quitzmann,  E.  A.,  60,  105. 

Rader,  Matthaeus,  97. 
Ranke,  Leopold  von,  104. 
Rettberg,  F.  W.,  37,  74. 
Rodenberg,  Karl,  7,  29,  33,  42, 
Roesler,  C.  F.,  32. 
Roncallius,  Thomas,  32. 
Rosweyde,  Heribert,  81. 
Rutilius  Namatianus,  103. 

Salvian,  34,  53. 
Sauppe,  Hermann,  ^i,  122. 
Sidonius  ApoUinaris,  67. 
Sitzungsberichte  der  kaiserlichen 

Akademie  der   Wissenschaf- 

ten  (Vienna),  107. 


Smith,  William,  74. 
Sommerlad,  Theo,  19,  51. 
Stabius,  Joannes,  37. 
Stokes,  G.  T.,  74. 
Sulpicius  Severus,  50,  63,  90, 

103,  III. 
Surius,  Laurentius,  33. 
Swarowsky,  Anton,  39. 

Thierry,  Amedee,  52,  53,  104. 
Tillemont,  see  Le  Nain  de  Til- 

lemont. 
Translatio  Sancti  Severini,  108. 

Valesius,  93. 

Valois,  Henri  de,  see  Valesius. 

Velserus,  Marcus,  30,  50. 

Venantius  Fortunatus,  97. 

Viard,  Paul,  64. 

Vita  Willibaldi,  8. 

Wace,  Henry,  74. 
Wattenbach,  Wilhelm,  20. 
Wietersheim,  Eduard  von,  72. 
Workman,  H.  B.,  91,  94. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Abel,  112. 

Abraham,  patriarch,  loo. 

Adamnan,  abbot  of  lona,  74, 

n.  2. 
Ad  Vineas,  cell  of  Severinus  at, 

36. 

Aedituus,  51,  n.  2. 

Aegidius,  ruler  in  Gaul,  41,  n. 
I,  78,  n.  2. 

Aenus  (Inn),  river,  34,  67,  71, 
97,  n.  I. 

Aetius,    Roman    general,    78, 
n.  2. 

Alamanni,   German  tribe,   23, 
41,  n.  I,  85. 
lay  waste  Noricum  Mediter- 

raneum,  24,  76. 
overthrown  by  the  Romans 
at  Batavis,  24,  77  f. 

Almsgivings,  enjoined  by  Seve- 
rinus, 22,  24,  30,  31,  34,  44, 

56,  57-  63-67- 
Alps,  the,  60,  n.  2,  81,  97,  n.  i. 
Alveus     (or    Alneus),     Gallic 

saint,  58,  n.  3. 
Amantius,  deacon,  68  f. 
Ambrose,     Saint,     bishop     of 

Milan,  89  f. 
Ambrosius,  exile,  25,  87. 
Anthony,      Saint,      Egyptian 

monk,  93,  n.  i. 
Antonius,  disciple  of  Severinus, 

45,  n.  I,  53,  n.  2. 


Arians,  Christian  sect,  41,  n.  i, 
46,  n.  2. 

Ariminum,  city  in  Italy,  15. 

Asturis,  town  near  the  Dan- 
ube, 21,  29,  31. 

Attila,  king  of  the  Huns,  29, 
41,  n.  I,  125. 

Austria,  36,  n.  2,  38,  n.  2. 

Avitianus,  soldier,  103. 

Bajovarius,  97,  n.  i. 

Barbaria,  lady  of  rank,  27,  107, 
126. 

Basil  the  Great,  Saint,  monas- 
tic rule  of,  37,  n.  i. 

Bassus,  monk,  15. 

Batavis  (Passau),  town  on  the 
Danube,  67,  68,  69,  71  f., 

74- 
attacked  by  Hunimund,  72  f. 
the  Alamanni  defeated  at, 

24,  77  f- 
stormed  by  the  Thuringi,  24, 

78. 
Bavaria,  38,  n.  2. 
Bear,  miracle  of  the,  25,  81  f. 
Belenus,  Celtic  deity,  51,  n.  2. 
Benedictine      monastery      of 

Saint  Severinus,  at  Naples, 

107,  n.  3. 
Boethius,  70,  n.  i. 
Bojotro  (Innstadt),  church  at, 

71- 
133 


134 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Bojotro,  monastery   of    Seve- 

rinus  at,  71,  89. 
Bonosus,  monk,  25,  88  f. 
Boundary  wall,  the,  69. 
Breones,  Alpine  tribe,  97,  n.  i. 
Brunner,  Sebastian,  10. 
Bulgaria,  104,  n.  2. 
Burgum,  near  Favianis,  38. 
Businca,      affluent      of      the 

Danube,  60  f. 
Byrrus,     river    in     Noricum, 

97,  n.  I. 

Capraria,  island,  103,  n.  i. 

Castellum,  52,  n.  3. 

Catholic  faith,  the,  29,  41. 

Catholics,  41,  n.  i,  46. 

Christ,  15,  17,  19,  34,  36,  43, 
45,47,  48,  61,  62,  63,  66  f., 
72,  73,  80,  83,  84,  8s,  91,  92, 

98,  99,  loi,  no.   III,  113, 
121,  123,  124,  125. 

Christian  literature,  51,  n.  2. 
Christian     narratives,     early, 

81,  n.  2. 
Colman,  Irish  pilgrim,  36,  n.  2. 
Columba,  Saint,  biography  of, 

by  Adamnan,  74,  n.  2. 
Comagenis,  town  in  Riverside 
Noricum,  21,  25,  30,  :},i, 
87. 
earthquake  at,  31  f. 
Constantius,  bishop  of  Lauria- 

cum,  53,  n.  2,  83. 

CuculHs    (Kuchel),    town    of 

Riverside    Noricum,     53, 

n.  I. 

abominable  sacrifices  at,  53. 

miracle  of  the  tapers  of  the 


faithful  at,  22,  53  ff.,  123, 
124. 
miracle  of  the  locusts  at,  22, 

55  ff- 
Custos ccclcsiae,  ^o,n.  i,  5i,n.  2. 

Dalmatia,  72,  n.  i,  78,  n.  2, 

103,  n.  I. 
Danube,  the,   29,  S3,  34,  38, 

41,  n.  I,  46,  49,  52,  60,  67, 

72,  73,  79,  98,  104,  105- 
Danube  fiotUla,  the,  66,  n.  2. 
Deogratias,  bearer  of  letters, 

17- 
Dumb  man,  miracle  of  the,  27, 

106,  123,  125. 

Earthquake,     at     Comagenis, 

31  f. 

date  of,  32,  n.  i,  125. 
East,  the,  19,  29,  125. 
Egypt,  93,  n.  3,  95. 
Egyptian  bondage,  house  of, 

105. 
EUsha  the  prophet,  80,  100. 
Empire,    dissolution    of    the, 

78,  n.  2. 
Ens,  66,  n.  2. 
Epiphany,  97. 
Eugippius,    priest,   sends   the 

Life  of  Severinus  to  Deacon 

Paschasius,  15-20,  111-113, 

126. 

Famine,  at  Favianis,  21,  33  f. 
at  Lauriacum,   relieved  by 
Severinus,  23,  66  f.,   122, 
124. 
in  Gaul,  67,  n.  i. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


135 


Fasts,  31. 
practised  by  Severinus,  38, 

64,  93  f. 
enjoined  by  him,  24,  30,  31, 

44,  54,  55  f-,  76,  77,  79, 

90,  92. 
denounced  by  the  gabbling 

priest,  72. 
practised    by    the     Thera- 

peutae,  93,  n.  3. 
Favianis,    city    in    Riverside 
.Noricum,  21,  s^,  36,  46, 

52,  72,  85,  98. 
famine  at,  s^  f. 
defeat  of  the  raiders  near, 

35  i- 
wrongly      identified      with 

Vienna,  36,  n.  2. 
monastery  of  Severinus  at, 

see  Monastery. 
Feba,    prince    of    the    Rugii, 
probably  the  same  as  Fele- 
theus,  or  Feva,  40,  n.  i,  71. 
Feletheus,  or  Feva,  king  of  the 

Rugii,  son  of  Flaccitheus, 

22,  26,47,48,  87. 
his  friendship  with  Severi- 
nus, 46. 
removes      the      provincials 

from  Lauriacum,  25,  84  ff. 
his     final     interview     with 

Severinus,  26,  94  f. 
gives  Favianis  to  Ferderu- 

chus,  98. 
taken  prisoner  and  removed 

to  Italy,  104,  125. 
said  to  have  been  put  to 

death  by  Odoacer,  104,  n. 

I.        See  Feba. 


Ferderuchus,  brother  of  King 
Feva,  40,  n.  i. 
lord  of  Favianis,  98. 
adjured   by   Severinus,    26, 

98  f.,  104. 
characterized,  103. 
seizes  the  possessions  of  the 

monastery,  26,  103  f. 
slain  by  Fredericus,  26,  104. 
Feva,  see  Feletheus. 
Flaccitheus,  king  of  the  Rugii, 
21,  22,  46,  98. 
interview  of,  with  Severinus, 

40-43- 
Florian,  martyr,  36,  n.  2. 

Franks,  German  tribe,  41,  n.  i, 

53,  n.  2. 
Fratta   Maggiore,    town   near 

Naples,  107,  n.  3. 
Fredericus,  prince  of  the  Rugii, 
40,  n.  I. 

seized  by  the  goldsmiths,  22, 

47  f. 
slays  Ferderuchus,  104. 
flees   before    Odoacer,    104, 

125- 

returns  home,  104,  125. 
again  put  to  flight,  104,  125. 
goes  to  Theodoric,  104,  126. 
Fugitivus,  18,  n.  3. 

Gaul,  67,  n.  I,  78,  n.  2. 
Gelasius,    Saint,    pope    (492- 

496),  107,  126. 
Gervasius,    Saint,    martyr   of 
Milan,  49,  n.  i. 

relics  of,  22,  49  f. 
Gibuldus,    king    of    the    Ala- 

manni,  23,  67  ff. 


136 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Giso,  queen  of  King  Feletheus, 

22,  40,  n.  I. 
troubles  of,  because  of  her 

opposition    to    Severinus, 

46flf. 
strongly    marked    character 

of,  46,  n.  I. 
her    final     interview     with 

Severinus,  94  f. 
removed  to  Italy,  104,  125. 
her  fate  unknown,  104,  n.  i. 
Goths  (Ostrogoths),  the,  41,  n. 

I,  42. 
hostile  to  Flaccitheus,  40. 
destitution  of,  66,  n.  i. 
beleaguer  Tiburnia,  41,  n.  i, 

65  f.        ■ 
at  war  with  the  Suevi,  72, 
n.  I. 

Harmony,    Pennsylvania,    93, 

n.  3. 
Heruli,  German  tribe,  24, 41,  n. 

I,  53,  n.  2,  75. 
Homo  saccular  is,  loi,  n.  2. 
Hunimund,  72  f. 
Hims,  the,  29. 

Ice,     formation    of,     on    the 
Danube,  38. 
melting  of,  on  the  Aenus,  34. 
Importunus,     Roman     consul 

(509),  15- 

Inn,  the,  60,  n.  2.     Sec  Aenus. 

Innstadt,  see  Bojotro. 

Islands,  part  of,  in  the  history 
of  monasticism  in  the  Occi- 
dent, 103,  n.  I. 

Isonzo,  battle  of  the  (489),  126. 


Israel,  children  of,  95. 

Italy,  18,  40,  45,  46,  69,  78,  n. 

2,  102,  n.  3,  104,  106,  107, 

125,  126. 

Jacob,  patriarch,  99. 
James  the  apostle,  84. 
Januarius,  martyr,  107,  n.  3. 
Jesus,  47,  61,  62,  80,  89,  99. 

See  Christ. 
John  the  Baptist,  Saint,  bless- 
ing of ,  24,  71,  74. 

relics  of,  24,  73  f. 
Joseph,  patriarch,  96. 
Joviaco    (Schlogen),    town   of 
Riverside  Noricum,  74. 

sacked    by   the  Heruli,   24, 

75- 
Juvao     (Salzburg),    town    of 

Riverside    Noricum,    58, 

n.  I. 
miracle  of  the  saint's  taper 

at,  22,  58  f.,  123,  124. 
miracle  of  the  sick  woman 

at,  22  f.,  59  f. 

Klosterneuburg,  29,  n.  3. 
Kuchel,  see  Cucullis. 

Laid,  loi,  n.  2. 

Laudicius,  blind  man,  miracle 

of,  109  f.,  123,  125. 
Lauriacum,  chief  town  of  River- 
side  Noricum,    53,   n,    2, 
66,  n.  2,  89,  n.  i. 
miracle  of  the  rust  at,  23, 

66  f. 
people  of  Batavis  remove  to, 

78. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


137 


Lauriacum,  miracle  of  the  oil 
at,  24,  79  f.,  123,  124. 
preserved  by  Severinus,  25, 

82  ff. 
abandoned  at  the  behest  of 
Feva,  25,  84  ff. 
Lent,  93. 

Leopold  III  the  Pious,  mar- 
grave of  Austria  (1096- 
ii36),36,  n.  2. 
Leper  from  the  territory  of 
Milan,  miracle  of  the,  24, 
76  f. 
Leper  named  Tejo,  miracle  of 

the,  25,  88. 
Lerina,   isle   in   the   Mediter- 
ranean, 45,  n.  I,  103,  n.  I. 
Locellum,  102,  n.  3. 
Loculum,  102,  n.  3. 
Locusts,  ravages  of,  22,  55  ff. 
Lorch,  66,  n.  2. 
Lot's  wife,  51. 
Lower  Hungary,  38,  n.  2. 
Lower  Pannonia,  40. 
Lucania,  district  in  Italy,  15. 
Lucillus,  Saint,  priest,  26,  69, 

97,  105,  106. 
Lucullan     castle,     the,     near 
Naples,  107,  121,  n.  2,  126. 

Macerata    di    Monte    Feltre, 

town  in  Italy,  106,  n.  i. 
Macon,     second     council     of 

(585).  64,  n.  I. 
Mamertinus,  tribune,  35. 
pursues  the  robbers,  35. 
victorious  at  the  brook  Ti- 

guntia,  36. 
ordained  bishop,  35. 


MarcelHnus,  ruler  in  Dalma- 

tia,  41,  n.  I,  78,  n.  2. 
Marcianus,  monk,  26,  91. 

a  citizen  of  Cucullis,  53. 

priest  of  the  monastery  of 
Saint  Severinus,  53,  107. 
Marcus,  subdeacon,  62,  63. 
Marinus,     precentor     of     the 

church  at  Naples,  no. 
Martin,  Saint,  of  Tours,  50,  n. 

2,  63,  n.  I. 
Maternus,  doorkeeper,  62,  63. 
Mattathias,  Jewish  leader,  112. 
Maurus,  janitor,  22,  51  f. 
Maximianus,  Saint,  priest,  75. 
Maximilian,  martyr,  36,  n.  2. 
Maximus,    man   of   Noricum, 

75  f- 
leads    a    party    across    the 

Alps,  81. 
saved  by  the  bear,  81  f. 
Mediterranean,  the,  103,  n.  i. 
Milan,  76,  89. 
Moderatus,  singer,  74. 
Moesia,  province,  104,  126. 
Monachus,  loi,  n.  2. 
Monastery  of  Severinus  near 
Favianis,  26,  36  f.,  43  f., 
49f-,5i,72,  73,75,  86,  89, 
92  f.,  98,  103,  104,  125. 
at  Batavis,  67. 
at  Bojotro,  71,  89  f. 
Mount  Feleter,  castle  in  Italy, 
106,  126. 

Naples,  8,  n.  i,  27,  107,  109, 

no,  121,  n.  2,  126. 
Norica  rura,  97,  n.  i. 
iNorici,  23,  65,  67,  n.  i. 


138 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Noricum,   district   in   Central 

Europe,  8,  41,  n.  i,  53,  n. 

2,  78,  n.  2. 
use  of  the  word,  65,  n.  i. 
Riverside  Noricum,  19,  29, 

52,  66,  n.  2,  105,  n.  i,  125, 

126. 
Noricum       Mediterraneum 

(Noricum),  24,  65,  70,  75, 

81,  105,  n.  I. 
Novae,   city  of  Moesia,   104, 
126. 

Occident,  the,  island  monaster- 
ies of,  103,  n.  I. 
Odoacer,  visits  cell  of  Severi- 
nus,  45. 
Severinus  foretells  his  great- 
ness, 21,  45  f. 
and  his  downfall,  25,  87,  126. 
proclaimed    ruler   of    Italy, 

125. 
friendly  relations  with  Sev- 
erinus, 25,  86  f. 
wages  war  against  the  Rugii, 

104,  125  f. 
commands   the   removal   of 

the  provincials,  104. 
overthrown    and    slain    by 
Theodoric,  126. 
Oil,  miracle  of  the,  24,  79  f., 

123,  124. 
Onoiilfus,  brother  of  'Odoacer, 

104,  125  f. 
Orestes,  patrician,  18,  107,  n. 

I,  125- 
Orient,  the,  37,  n.  i. 
Osterhofen,  see  Quintanis. 
Ostiarius,  30,  n.  i,  51,  n.  2. 


Pachomius,    Egyptian    monk, 

90,  n.  3. 
Pannonia,  18,  n.  i,  41,  n.  i, 

52,  n.  2. 
Pannonias,  the,  29,  41,  n.  i,  53, 

n.  2,  III,  125. 
Pannonias,  the  two,  29. 
Paphnutius    Cephala,     Egyp- 
tian monk,  93,  n.  2. 
Paschasius,  Roman  deacon,  126. 
addressed  by  Eugippius,  15- 

20. 
replies,  111-113. 
Passau,  see  Batavis. 
Paul,  Saint,  39,  n.  i,  112. 
Paulinus,    priest    of   Noricum 
Mediterraneum,  23,  70. 
elected  bishop  of  Tiburnia 
in    accordance    with    the 
prophecy     of     Severinus, 
24,  70. 
warned  by  Severinus  of  the 
incursion  of  the  Alamanni, 

24,  75  f- 

Pennsylvania,  93,  n.  3. 

Phoebicius,  professor  at  Bur- 
digala,  51,  n.  2. 

Pientissimus,  bystander,  80. 

Pierius,  Count,  official  of  Odo- 
acer, IDS,  125  f. 

Pizzofalcone,  near  Naples,  107, 
n.  2. 

Poor  man's  corn,  miracle  of 
the,  22,  56  f.,  117,  n.  I. 

Postumianus,  90. 

Primenius,  ItaUan  priest,  18, 
19,  125. 

Processa,  woman  of  Naples, 
108  f. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


139 


Procula,  wealthy  widow,  $3  f. 
Protasius,    Saint,    martyr    of 
Milan,  49,  n.  i. 
relics  of,  22,  49  f. 

Quintanis  (Osterhofen),  munic- 
ipality of  Raetia  Secunda, 
60,  n.  I,  75. 
miracle  of  the  church  by  the 

river  at,  23,  60  f. 
the  inhabitants  remove  to 
Batavis,  77. 
Quirinus,  martyr,  36,  n.  2. 

Raetia,  69,  n.  i. 

Raetia  Prima,  60,  n.  2. 

Raetia  Secunda,  60. 

Raetias,  the,  34,  69,  n.  i,  97. 

Raetii,  60,  n.  i,  67,  n.  i. 

Rapp,  George,  93,  »•  3- 

Reliquiae,  71,  n.  2. 

Renatus,  monk,  26,  91. 

Retica  annona,  69,  n.  i. 

Roman  dominion,  69. 

Roman  province,  the,  96. 

Roman  territory,  68. 

Romans,  30,  32,  41,  n.  i,  46,  48, 
77,  104. 

Rome  (city),  70,  n.  i,  104,  n.  i. 

Rome  (empire),4i,n. i,6o,n. 2. 

Romulus  Augustulus,  last  em- 
peror of  the  West  (475-476), 
107,  n.  I. 

Royal  Neapohtan  State  Ar- 
chives, the,  107,  n.  3. 

Rugian  royal  house,  genealog- 
ical table  of  the,  40,  n.  i. 

Rugian  widow's  only  son, 
miracle  of  the,  21,  43-45. 


Rugii,    German   tribe  on  the 

Danube,   21,    22,    25,  40, 

43,  45,  71,  84,  85,  86,  94, 

98. 

distinctive   position  of,  41, 

n.  I. 

attacked  by  Odoacer,  104, 

125. 
Rumania,  38,  n.  2. 

Sabaria,    town    in    Pannonia, 

destroyed    by    earthquake, 

32,  n.  I,  125. 
Salzburg,  see  Juvao. 
Sanct  Peter  im  Holz,  town,  65, 

n.  2. 
Sanctiiaria,  71,  n.  2. 
San  Marino,  106,  n.  i. 
Saracens,  107,  n.  3. 
Satan,    25,   45,   n.    i,    72,  89, 

90. 
Saviour,  the,  38,  39,  48,   80. 

See  Christ. 
Saxons,  German  tribe,  41,  n.  i, 

53,  n.  2. 
Scamarae,  robbers,  52. 
Schlogen,  see  Joviaco. 
Severin,  village,  36,  n.  2. 
Severinus,  Saint,  15,  16,  19  f. 

hfe  of,  21-110. 

founds    a    monastery    near 
Favianis,  36  f. 

trains  the  monks,  37,  50  f., 
92  f.,  122,  124. 

mode  of  life  of,  38  flf.,  92  ff. 

redeems    captives,    23     48, 
67  ff. 

collects  reUcs  of  martyrs,  22, 
24,  49  f.,  71,  73  f 


I40 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Severinus,  declines  the  ofl&ce  of 

bishop,  2  2,  50. 
fame  of,  38,  52,  70. 
cares  for  captives  and  the 

needy,  23,  63  fif.,  122,  123, 

124. 
establishes  tithes,  64-67. 
reviled     by     the     gabbUng 

priest,  24,  72. 
discipUnes  the  three  proud 

monks,  25  f.,  89  f. 
his  final  address  to  his  fol- 
lowers,  26,  99-102,    117, 

n.  I. 
death  of,  26,  102. 
burial  of,  102. 
first  translation  of  the  body, 

to    Mount    Feleter,     27, 

IDS  f. 
second    translation,    to    the 

Lucullan  castle,  27,  107- 

iio,  123,  125. 
third    translation,     to    the 

Benedictine  monastery  of 

Saint  Severinus  in  Naples, 

107,  n.  3. 
fourth  translation,  to  Fratta 

Maggiore  (1807),  107,  n.3. 
patron    saint     of    Austria, 

36,  n.  2. 
called  apostle  of  Noricum, 

39,  n.  2. 
called     second     apostle    pt 

Austria,  36,  n.  2. 
Silenus,  121,  n.  2. 
Silvinus,   priest  of  Quintanis, 

recalled  from  the  dead  by 

Severinus,  23,  61  ff.,  121, 

n.  2,  123,  124. 


engravings  representing  the 
scene,  9,  63,  n.  i. 
Sistova,     town    in    Bulgaria, 

104,  n.  2. 
Soldiers,    at    Favianis    vinder 
Mamertinus,  35  f. 

at  Batavis,  69  f. 
Sosius,  martyr,  107,  n.  3. 
Spital,  65,  n.  2. 
Stilicho,  72,  n.  i,  89. 
Suevi,  German  tribe,  72,  n.  i. 
Sulpicius  Severus,  90. 

Taper  of  the  saint,  miracle  of 
the,  22,  58  f.,  123,  124. 

Tapers  of  the  faithful,  miracle 
of  the,  22,  53  ff.,  123,  124. 

Tejo,  leper,  miraculously 
healed,  25,  88. 

Theodemir,  king  of  the  Ostro- 
goths, 66,  n.  I. 

Theodoric,  king  of  the  Ostro- 
goths, 60,  n.  2,  104,  105,  n. 
I,  126. 

Therapeutae,  Egyptian  ascet- 
ics, 93,  n.  3. 

Three  proud  monks,  miracle 
of  the,  25  f.,  89  f. 

Thuringi,  German  tribe,  41,  n. 
1,85. 
storm  Batavis,  78. 

Tiburnia,  metropoHs  of  Nori- 
cum Mediterraneum,  41 ,  n.  i , 

65  f.,  70. 
Tiguntia,  brook,  battle  at  the, 

36. 
Timothy,  Saint,  112. 
Titas,   mountain  near  Arimi- 

num,  15. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


141 


Tithes,  23,  64-67. 

Tulln,  30,  n.  2. 

Tyrrhenian  Sea,  the,  103,  n.  i. 

Upper  Pannonia,  19,  32,  n.  i. 
Ursus,  monk,  26,  92. 

Valentine,  Saint,  bishop  of  the 
Raetias,  97. 
■    Verona,  battle  of  (489),  126. 
Victor,  Saint,  bishop  of  Naples, 

107,  126. 
Victory,  goddess,  78,  n.  i. 


Vienna,  29,  n.3, 36, n.  2,38,n.  2, 
church   of   Saint    Severinus 
at,  120. 
Visigoths,  the,  67,  n.  i. 
Vulgate,  the,  52,  n.  3. 

Western  Empire,  the,  41,  n.  i, 

72,  n.  I. 
Willibald,  Saxon  pilgnm,  8,  n.  i. 
Wurtemberg,  93,  n.  3. 

Zeno,  Byzantine  emperor  (474 
-491),  126. 


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